Myanmar Business Today - Vol 2, Issue 20

May 22-28, 2014
Myanmar Business Today
mmbiztoday.com
mmbiztoday.com May 22-28, 2014| Vol 2, Issue 20MYANMAR’S FIRST BILINGUAL BUSINESS JOURNAL
Inside MBT
KyaukphyuSEZMasterPlantoGoPublicinJune
Htun Htun Minn
T
he Management
Committee for
Kyaukphyu Special
Economic Zone (SEZ)
will present the SEZ’s
master plan to the public
next month, a committee
member told Myanmar
Business Today.
Currently, Singapore-
based consortium Crea-
tive Professional Groups
(CPG), which won a
$2.5-million bid in March
to provide consultancy
services for the SEZ in
Myanmar’s western state
of Rakhine, is carrying
project site and drafting a
long-term master plan.
“We asked them to draft
a long-term master plan
until 2050 which will
consider the development
of the whole state. We will
present the master plan to
the public in Yangon and
Kyaukphyu in June,” said
U Kyaw Hlaing, a mem-
ber of the Kyaukphyu SEZ
Management Committee.
Once the draft for the
mittee will invite tender
for the implementation
and construction of the
economic zone. The com-
mittee expects work on the
SEZ to start in early 2015,
U Kyaw Hlaing said.
The government esti-
mates that the total ex-
penditure to build Kyauk-
phyu SEZ, which is located
near Sittaw and Simaw vil-
lages in the northeastern
part of Kyaukphyu town-
ship, is about $277 million.
The SEZ is being devel-
oped in four stages – the
with input from econo-
mists, businesspeople
and Kyaukphyu locals;
selecting a consultant was
the second stage while the
third one involves invit-
ing tenders for a develop-
er, who will build the SEZ
in the fourth stage.
A total of 520 hectares
(about 1,300 acres) of
land will be used for the
project, where 20 hec-
tares will be used for a
deep seaport, 100 hec-
tares for housing projects
and 400 hectares for the
economic zone itself.
Garment factories will
comprise 30 percent of
the economic zone, while
small enterprises will
comprise 50 and 20 per-
cent respectively.
According to the newly
enacted SEZ Law, com-
panies have to provide at
least 25 percent of the job
opportunities to locals at
the beginning, while the
Foreign Investment Law
stipulates that the num-
ber of locals employed at
a company has to go up
by 25 percent every two
years until locals com-
prise at least 75 percent of
the workforce.
ausmufjzLtxl;pD;yGm;a&;Zkef
a&&SnfpDrHudef;udk vmrnfh ZGefv
wGif trsm;jynfoltm; csjyaqG;
aEG;oGm;rnfjzpfaMumif;ausmufjzL
txl;pD;yGm;a&;ZkefpDrHcefYcGJa&;
aumfrwDrS owif;&&Sdonf/
,cktcg ausmufjzLtxl;pD;yGm;
a&;ZkeftwGuf tBuHay;ukrÜPD
tjzpf a&G;cs,fcH&aom pifumyl
tajcpdkuf CPG (Creative
Professional Groups) ukrÜPD
onf uGif;qif;avhvmrIrsm;
jyKvkyfuma&&SnfpDrHudef;udka&;qGJ
aeNyDjzpfNyD; rMumrDNyD;pD;awmhrnf
jzpfaMumif; od&onf/
]]Master plan udk a&&Snf
2050txda'owpfckvHk;twGuf
NcHKiHkNyD;qGJcdkif;xm;w,f/Masterplan
udk &efukefrSmwpfcg? ausmufjzLrSm
wpfcgjynfolawGudk csjyaqG;aEG;
oGm;rSmjzpfygw,f}}[k ausmufjzL
txl;pD;yGm;a&;ZkefpDrHcefYcGJa&;
aumfrwDtzGJU0if OD;ausmfvdIifu
ajymonf/
tqdkygausmufjzLtxl;pD;yGm;
a&;ZkeftwGuf [ufwm 400
vsmxm;umtaumiftxnfazmf
onfhtcgwGif SEZ Oya't&
a'ocHvkyfom; 25&mcdkifEIef;cefY
xm;&rnfjzpfonf/EdkifiHjcm;&if;ESD;
jr§KyfESHrIOya't&ESpfESpfvQif wpf
Budrf 25 &mcdkifEIef;wdk;um a'ocH
tvkyform;rsm;udkcefYxm;&rnf
jzpfaMumif; od&onf/
txl;pD;yGm;a&;Zkefa&&SnfpDrH
udef;udktwnfjyKNyD;ygutaumif
txnfazmfrnfhukrÜPDukd wif'g
ac:um a&G;cs,foGm;rnfjzpfum
txl;pD;yGm;a&;Zkeftaumiftxnf
azmfa&;ukd vmrnfhESpftapmydkif;
wGif vkyfaqmifEkdif&ef pDrHcefYcGJ
a&;aumfrwDu cefYrSef;xm;onf/
,cktcgjrefrmEkdifiHwGifausmufjzL
txl;pD;yGm;a&;Zkeftygt0if
txl;pD;yGm;a&;ZkefoHk;ck taumif
txnfazmf&efaqmif&Gufvsuf&Sd
&m xm;0,fa&eufqdyfurf;
taumiftxnfazmf&eftDwmvsH
xkdif;ukrÜPDu vkyfudkifcGifh&&SdcJh
aomfvnf; tqdkygukrÜPDu Ekwf
xGufoGm;cJhonf/tjcm;pD;yGm;a&;
Zkefwpfckjzpfaom oDv0gtxl;
pD;yGm;a&;ZkefwGifvnf; ajr,m
avsmfaMu;udpö&yfrsm;ESifhywfouf
ítjiif;yGm;rIrsm;jzpfay:aeonf/
FDI Over $2b in
First Four Months
Kyaw Min
M
yanmar received
$2.21 billion in
foreign invest-
months in 2014, led by the
transport and communi-
cations sectors, Directo-
rate of Investment and
Company Administration
(DICA) data shows.
Transport and commu-
nication sectors attracted
$1.34 billion in invest-
ment followed by manu-
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
facturing sector at $426.8
million, real estate at
$267.8 million, hotel and
tourism at $56.9 million
and mining $28.69 mil-
lion.
Major investments
during this period came
from China, Hong Kong,
Singapore, South Korea,
Malaysia and the United
Kingdom, according to
DICA data.
A total of 71 foreign-
invested projects in 2013-
cember have led to the
creation of 50,751 jobs for
locals, DICA said.
cences to Rein in Illegal Gold
Mining P-3
Is Myanmar A New El Do-
rado for Foreign Investors?
P-5
Highlights of Five New My-
anmar Tax Laws P-7
jrefrmEdkifiHtaejzifh 2014 ckESpf
yxrav;vtwGif; ydkYaqmifa&;
ESifh qufoG,fa&;u@rsm;wGif
EdkifiHjcm;&if;ESD;jr§KyfESHrIwefzdk; tar
&duefa':vm 2 'or 21 bDvD,H
&&SdcJhaMumif; &if;ESD;jr§KyfESHrIESifh
ukrÜPDrsm;ñTefMum;rIOD;pD;Xme
pm&if;rsm;t& od&onf/
ydkYaqmifa&;ESifh qufoG,fa&;
u@rsm;wGif &if;ESD;jr§KyfESHrIrSm
tar&duefa':vm 1 'or 34
bDvD,H&&SdcJhNyD; [dkw,fESifhc&D;oGm;
vma&;rS 56.9oef;?owåKwl;azmf
a&;rStar&duefa':vm28 'o
r 69 oef; &&SdcJhjcif;jzpfonf/

May 22-28, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
2LOCAL BIZ
in Myanmar, especially in hotels and tourism sector,
state-run media said. Malaysian investment in Myan-
mar is mainly in oil and gas, and livestock breeding.
Malaysia’s investment in Myanmar stands at $1.65 bil-
lion as of March this year, ranking seventh in Myan-
mar’s foreign investor line-up.
Authorities have banned Yazarmin bus line from re-
suming its Yangon-Nay Pyi Taw-Yangon service after
14 people were killed on Nay Pyi Taw-Yangon high-
way. With 43 passengers on board, Yazarmin, which
set out from Nay Pyi Taw for Yangon, overturned on
the highway and fell underneath a bridge when the bus
tried to overtake a motor car at high speed under heavy
rain. The Nay Pyi Taw-Yangon highway, which opened
in 2009, has claimed 360 lives in road accidents until
The Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project,
which would connect the Sittwe seaport in Myanmar’s
western Rakhine state with the landlocked Indian state
of Mizoram, will be operational at the end of 2016, In-
project, being developed by India since 2010 with an
investment of $214 million, was originally scheduled to
Frankfurt-based airline Condor Flugdienst and Thai
charter airline Business Air have cancelled their direct
ing directly to Myanmar including All Nippon Airways,
Qatar Airways, Korean Air and Singapore Airlines.
Myanmar will implement the ASEAN Economic Com-
munity (AEC) by January 1, 2015, as stipulated by the
regional body, Dr Kan Zaw, minister for national plan-
ning and economic development, said at the recently-
concluded 24th
ASEAN Summit in Nay Pyi Taw. “We
plan to start the AEC in 2015. We don’t need to com-
plete all the operations to implement the AEC – the
remaining programmes will go ahead,” the minister
said. The AEC aims to create a common market where
gion will spur job creation and economic development.
However, the less-developed members of the ASEAN
like Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia are facing challeng-
es in narrowing the economic and developmental gaps
between them and developed economies like Singapore
and Indonesia.
Greenply Industries said it has incorporated its joint
venture with Alkemal Singapore Pte Ltd as private lim-
stock exchange, it said the new company, Greenply
Alkemal, would acquire and own 100 percent share of
Greenply Industries (Myanmar) Pvt Ltd, which was in-
corporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Greenply
Industries for setting-up a veneer or veneer-cum-ply-
wood unit in Myanmar.
A temporary surge in demand spurred by the annual
ASEAN summit in Myanmar prompted Bangkok Air-
ways to increase its Bangkok-Nay Pyi Taw services to
a daily basis. The sole operator of the route raised the
end on May 30.
Myanmar Summary
MYANMAR’S FIRST BILINGUAL BUSINESS JOURNAL
Board of Editors
Editor-in-Chief - Sherpa Hossainy
Email - sherpa.hossainy@gmail.com
Ph - 09 42 110 8150
Editor-in-Charge - Wai Linn Kyaw
Email - linnkhant18@gmail.com
Ph - 09 40 157 9090
Reporters & Contributors
Htun Htun Minn, May Soe San, Phyu Thit Lwin,
Kyaw Min, Aye Myat, David Mayes, Kyaw Myo Htoon,
Wai Linn Kyaw, Sherpa Hossainy, Dominykas Broga
Art & Design
Zarni Min Naing (Circle)
Email - zarni.circle@gmail.com
Ph - 09 7310 5793
Ko Naing
Email - nzlinn.13@gmail.com
Ph - 09 730 38114
DTP
May Su Hlaing
Translators
Wai Linn Kyaw, Phyu Maung,
Bone Pyae Sone
Advertising
Seint Seint Aye, Moe Hsann Pann, Htet Wai Yan, Zin Wai Oo
Advertising Hotline - 09 420 237 625, 09 4211 567 05,
09 31 450 345
Email - sales.mbtweekly@gmail.com
Managing Director
Prasert Lekavanichkajorn
pkajorn@hotmail.com
09421149720
Publisher
U Myo Oo (04622)
No. 1A-3, Myintha 11th
Street,
South Okkalapa Township, Yangon.
Tel: 951-850 0763,
Fax: 951-8603288 ext: 007
Shwe Naing Ngan Printing (04193)
Printing
Subscription & Circulation
Aung Khin Sint - aksint2008@gmail.com
09 20 435 59
Nilar Myint - manilarmyint76@gmail.com
09 4210 855 11
Khaing Zaw Hnin - snowkz34@gmail.com
09 4211 30133
rav;&Sm;vkyfief;rsm;taejzifh jrefrmEdkifiH [dkw,fESifh c&D;oGm;
u@wGif &if;ESD;jr§yfESHrIrsm;tm; wdk;jr§ifh&ef vkyfaqmifvsuf&SdaMumif;
tpkd;&owif;pmrsm;t& od&onf/ rav;&Sm;onf jrefrmEdkifiH a&eH
ESifhobm0"mwfaiGU? arG;jrLa&;vkyfief;rsm;wGif t"du&if;ESD;jr§KyfESHae
onfhEkdifiHjzpfonf/
jrefrmtmPmydkifrsm;taejzifh &efukef-aejynfawmf um;vrf;wGif
vlaygif; 14 OD;aoqkH;apcJhonfh &mZmrif;,mOfvdkif; &efukef-
aejynfawmf-&efukefc&D;pOftm; ydwfodrf;vdkufaMumif; od&onf/
c&D;onf 43 OD;wifaqmifvmum aejynfawmfrS xGufcGmvmonfh
tqdkyg&mZmrif;um;onf rdk;jyif;xefpGm&GmaepOftwGif; wHwm;atmuf
odkYY jyKwfuscJhjcif;jzpfonf/
jrefrmEdkifiHtaemufbuf &cdkifjynfe,f&Sd ppfawGyifv,fqdyfurf;
ESifh tdEd´,ukef;wGif;ydkif; rDZkd&rfjynfe,fodkYqufoG,frnfh ukvm;wef
o,f,lydkYaqmifa&;pDrHudef;onf 2016 tukefwGif vkyfief;rsm;
pwifEdkifrnfjzpfaMumif; od&onf/ tqdkygpDrHudef;tm; tdEd´,rS
2010 ckESpfrSpwifum tar&duefa':vm 214 oef; &if;ESD;jr§KyfESHcJh
jcif;jzpfonf/
Frankfurt tajcpdkuf Condor Flugdienst avaMumif;vdkif;ESifh
xdkif; tiSm;av,mOfvdkif; Business Air
jrefrmEdkifiHodkY wkduf&dkufavaMumif;vdkif;rsm;tm; vkyfudkifEdkifpGrf;enf;yg;
aomaMumifh zsufodrf;vdkufaMumif; avaMumif;ñTefMum;rIOD;pD;XmerS
t&m&SdwpfOD;rS ajymMum;vdkufonf/

May 22-28, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
3LOCAL BIZ
Myanmar Summary
T
he Sagaing Region gov-
ernment will issue licenc-
es to illegal gold miners
in a bid to curb their activities
and rope in extra tax money
said.
The ministry will inspect min-
ing sites in Sagaing and issue
illegal miners licences by this
month, U Than Htike, Sagaing
regional minister for forestry
and mining, told Myanmar
Business Today.
“Taking such measure will in-
crease the state’s revenue,” he
said.
The Chindwin riverbank
along Homalin township in
Myanmar’s Sagaing region is
in the country and illegal min-
ing in recent years has been
rampant, the authorities say.
With an increase in illegal min-
ing, Chindwin river’s navigabil-
ity has dwindled as sandbanks
kept forming along the river.
“Those gold miners only seek
live in the lower part of the river
are now faced with the possibility
of environmental disasters,” the
regional minister said.
The minister said legalising
the illegal miners will make it
Htun Htun Minn
Villagers use tools to pan for gold from the Irrawaddy river.
SoeZeyaTun/Reuters
easier for the authorities to con-
trol their activities, thus pre-
venting environmental damage.
An illegal gold miner who re-
cently suspended his mining
after the regional government
started taking stern actions said
that previously the illegal gold
miners carried on with their ac-
tivities by negotiating with the
local authorities.
The miner, who has a medi-
um-sized mining activity, ad-
mitted this [illegal mining] is a
violation of law, but said that
for illegal miners to apply for
licences.
“But, as the government is
ply,” he said, requesting ano-
nymity.
There are about 300 gold min-
ing sites in Homalin township
in the upper part of Chindwin
river, but only a few are legal.
JICA to Get More
T
he Japan International
Cooperation Agency
(JICA) is negotiating with
the Japanese government to
give more loans to Myanmar’s
small and medium enterprises,
U Pe Myint, managing director
of Cooperative Bank, said.
The SME development sub-
it is planning to grant the two-
step loan from JICA to Myan-
mar Economic Bank, which dis-
burses the funds to local banks
“JICA is still discussing with
its government. The loans will
be granted after the negotia-
tions are completed. However,
we don’t know the exact amount
of the loan,” U Pe Myint told
Myanmar Business Today.
Myanmar Economic Bank is
velopment Assistance (ODA)
loan from JICA to distribute
the funds to Myanmar Citizens
Bank, state-owned Small and
Medium Industrial Develop-
ment Bank (SMIDB), Coopera-
May Soe San tive Bank, Kanbawza Bank and
other private banks with an
interest rate of 4 percent. The
banks will then give loans to
SMEs at an interest rate of 8.5
percent.
“For the international loans,
the government is paying an
annual interest of 4 percent
but the banks are redistribut-
ing them at 8.5 percent, which
is more than double. But, cur-
rently private banks give loans
at 13 percent, so 8.5 percent is
still good for us,” U Myat Thin
Aung, chairman of Industrial
Entrepreneurs Association, told
Myanmar Business Today.
Government and bank of-
rate exists due to currency rate
loan will be provided in Japa-
nese Yen) that are calculated
in a long-term (20 years) loan.
Other factors that drive up the
gap are banks’ management ex-
penditures, infrastructure and
risk management costs.
Besides, according to the Cen-
tral Bank of Myanmar’s cur-
rent deposit rate policy, lending
A woman works at a broom factory in Chaung U village, Ayearwaddy region. The Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) is in talks with the Japanese government to secure some much-needed loans for Myanmar’s small and medium enter-
prises.
FahmidBhuiya/PGMF
rates are not allowed to go be-
low the deposit rate, which is 8
percent.
Myanmar Summary
*syeftjynfjynfqdkif&myl;aygif;aqmif
&GufrIat*sifpD Jica rS jynfwGif;&Sd
tao;pm;ESifh tvwfpm;vkyfief;rsm;
twGuf acs;aiGrsm;xkwfacs;ay;Edkif&ef
onfhtqifhodkY a&muf&SdaeNyDjzpfaMumif;
or0g,rbPf refae*sif;'g½dkufwm
OD;azjrifhu arv 7 &ufaeYwGif ajym
onf/
*syeftjynfjynfqdkif&myl;aygif;aqmif
&Gufa&;at*sifpD Jica rS ay;aom
oufomaomtwdk;EIef;ESifhwuG Two
Step Loan pepfudk jrefrmhpD;yGm;a&;
bPfodkY xkwfacs;í jynfwGif;&Sd tao;
pm;ESifhtvwfpm;pufrIvkyfief;rsm;zGHUNzdK;
wdk;wufa&;twGuf aiGxkwfacs;ay;&ef
tpDtpOfudk n§dEIdif;aqG;aEG;rIrsm;jyKvkyf
aeaMumif; tao;pm;ESifhtvwfpm;vkyf
ief;rsm;zGHUNzdK;wdk;wufa&;qyfaumfrwD
owif;xkwfjyefcsuft& od&onf/
CB bPfrefae*sif;'g½dkufwmOD;azjrifh
u ]]aqG;aEG;wJhtqifhrSmyJ&Sdao;wm/
tpdk;&tcsif;csif;n§dEIdif;NyD;rS aqmif&Guf
vdkY&wm/ tpDtpOfawGu vkyfwkef;/
olwdkYtpdk;&eJY aqG;aEG;aewkef;yJ&Sdao;
w,f/ b,favmufyrmPacs;aiGxkwf
ay;rvJqdkwmawmif rajymao;bl;}}[k
ppfudkif;wdkif;a'oBuD;twGif; w&m;r0if
wl;azmfvkyfudkifonfha&TwGif;rsm;udk
Oya'ESifhtnDjzpfap&ef 2014 ckESpf
arvtwGif;tNyD;owfppfaq;rIrsm;jyKvkyf
ap&ef vkyfaqmifay;oGm;rnfjzpfaMumif;
ppfudkif;wdkif;a'oBuD;tpdk;&tzGJUopfawmESifh
owåKwGif;0efBuD;OD;oef;xdkufu ajymonf/
ppfudkif;wdkif;a'oBuD;[kr®vif;NrdKUe,f&dS
csif;wGif;jrpf½dk;wpfavQmufonfa&TtxGuf
trsm;qHk;a'ojzpfNyD; a&Twl;azmfvkyfudkif
olrsm; wpfESpfxufwpfESpfydkrdkrsm;jym;vm
aMumif;? tqdkyg w&m;r0ifa&Twl;azmfrI
rsm;aMumifh csif;wGif;jrpfa&aMumif;usyf
wnf;rIESifhoJaomifxGef;rIrsm;jrpfaMumif;
wpfavQmufjzpfay:aeaMumif;?xdkYaMumifh
ay;jcif;jzpfaMumif; 0efBuD;u qufvuf
ajymonf/
]]a&Twl;wJholawGuolwdkYtusKd;twGufyJ
vkyfMuw,f/wu,fwrf;a&Twl;&ifaemuf
qufwGJawGudkrpOf;pm;bl;?obm0ab;
'Pfudk trsm;qHk;cHae&wm csif;wGif;
atmufydkif;u a'ocHawGyg/ EdkifiHawmf
tcGeftwGuf t"duxm;NyD; w&m;r0if
wmawGudk ppfaq;ta&;,laeygNyD}}[k
olrsm;udk w&m;0ifjzpfatmifjyKvkyfay;
rnfjzpfNyD;EdkifiHawmftwGuftcGefaumuf
cH ay;oGm;rSmjzpfNyD; 2014 arvtwGif;
a&Twl;azmfolrsm;udk pdppfum w&m;0if
jzpfatmif xyfrHvkyfaqmifay;aejcif;
jzpfaMumif; OD;oef;xdkufu ajymonf/
,cifa&Twl;azmfvkdolrsm;onf ouf
qdkif&mtmPmydkifrsm;ESifh em;vnfrI,l
um wl;azmfaejcif;jzpfNyD; 2014 arvrS
pNyD;w&m;r0ifa&Twl;azmfolrsm;udkppfaq;
ta&;,laejcif;aMumifh a&Twl;azmfonfh
vkyfief;rsm;udk &yfqdkif;xm;&onf/

May 22-28, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 4
Myanmar Summary
Contd. P 6...
M
yanmar and Indonesia
have signed an agree-
ment on visa exemp-
tion for ordinary passport hold-
ers in a bid to boost tourism and
trade.
The agreement was signed
by Myanmar Foreign Minister
U Wunna Maung Lwin and his
Indonesian counterpart Marty
Natelegawa on the sidelines of
the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’
Meeting in Nay Pyi Taw.
Marty said the agreement is
vital to help improve relations
between the people of both
countries, increase connectivity
among ASEAN members and
boost local and regional tour-
ism.
“Relations between Indonesia
and Myanmar are really good
in terms of historical perspec-
tive –both countries have expe-
rienced a process of democratic
Kyaw Min transition,” he said.
The agreement marks a fur-
ther step toward an ASEAN
Common Visa by 2015, as stipu-
lated in the ASEAN Framework
Agreement on Visa Exemption
signed in Kuala Lumpur on July
26, 2006.
Besides tourism, both the
countries expect to increase
their trade and investment co-
operation through this deal,
Marty added.
“Myanmar is now an increas-
ingly open economy, which
creates opportunities for our
entrepreneurs to cooperate,”
Marty said.
The agreement is expected to
help both countries reach a bi-
lateral trade target of $1 billion
in 2016.
The visa exemption will take
Spokesman U Ye Htut said.
Myanmar have signed visa
exemption agreements with
Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, the
Philippines and Vietnam, and
negotiations on the move are
underway with Malaysia and
Singapore.
jrefrmEdkifiHESifh tif'dkeD;&Sm;EdkifiHwdkYtae
jzifh c&D;oGm;vkyfief;ESifh ukefoG,fa&;
u@rsm;tm; wdk;jr§ifh&eftwGuf ADZm
uif;vGwfcGifhoabmwlnDcsuftm;
vufrSwfa&;xdk;cJhaMumif; od&onf/
tqdkygoabmwlnDcsuftm; jrefrm
EdkifiH EdkifiHjcm;a&;0efBuD; OD;0PÖarmifvGif
ESifh tif'dkeD;&Sm;rS Marty Natelegawa
wdkYrSaejynfawmfwGifjyKvkyfonfhtmqD,H
EdkifiHjcm;a&;0efBuD;rsm;tpnf;ta0;yGJ
t&efaqG;aEG;yGJwGifvufrSwfa&;xdk;cJh
Mujcif;jzpf onf/
tqdkygoabmwlnDcsufonf 2006
ckESpf Zlvdkif 26 rav;&Sm;EdkifiH uGmvm
vrfylwGif a&;xdk;xm;onfh ADZmuif;vGwf
cGifhtwGuftmqD,HrlabmifoabmwlnD
csuft& 2015 ckESpf tmqD,HbkHADZm
twGuf ajcvSrf;wpf&yfjzpfonf/
People are seen in front of the visa on arrival counter at the Yangon International Airport.
SherpaHossainy
I
ndia will start bus services
between its northeast states
and Myanmar to seek closer
economic and trade ties with
the Southeast Asian country,
said a top Indian government
The bus service will be be-
tween Imphal in Manipur,
northeast India, and Mandalay
in Myanmar, and on another
road connection linking Mizo-
ram state with Myanmar, said
Anil Wadhwa, secretary in the
India will sign a free trade
agreement with the 10-member
Wai Linn Kyaw
Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) on services
and investments this year, after
signing an FTA with the ASEAN
on trade and goods in 2009,
press statement.
“Under the East Asia Summit,
negotiations are progressing
towards the Regional Compre-
hensive Economic Partnership.
Trade volumes between Asean
and India, Asean and Japan,
Japan and India, and India and
the US have been seeing incre-
mental increase,” he said.
India also aims to link Moreh
in India to Mae Sot in Thailand
via Myanmar while a transit
transport project to connect
Kolkata port in eastern India
with Sittwe port in Myanmar by
sea, river and road link are also
on the timetable.
“We also have an MoU with
Myanmar for a project on the
Rhi Tiddim Road. The Kaladan
Multimodal Project in Myan-
mar includes road and inland
waterway links to Sittwe port,
as also the potential for collabo-
ration in developing an indus-
trial zone or SEZ in Sittwe.”
Wadhwa said that in addi-
tion to the initial commitment
of 160km on the Tamu-Kalewa-
Kalemiyo (TKK) road, India is
committed to another 120km
on the Kalewa-Yargyi sector
and upgradation of 71 bridges
on the TKK section of the trilat-
eral highway.
“The feasibility study for the
Kalewa-Yargyi sector is cur-
rently under way. We are look-
ing at an Imphal-Mandalay bus
service and technical discus-
sions are to begin.
Wadhwa said India was seek-
Reuters

May 22-28, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 5
Myanmar Summary
Contd. P 6... Contd. P 6...
M
yanmar (for-
merly known as
Burma) moved
from a 50-year-long mili-
tary regime to budding
civilian rule in 2011. The
political transformation
has initiated social and
market reforms and has
piqued foreign investors’
interest in one of the last
Asian frontier markets to
open.
Having moved from
being one of the richest
countries in Asia before
World War II to one of
the most isolated states
under military rule and
then one of the poorest in
2013 (ranked 157th by the
International Monetary
Fund), Myanmar seems
to re-emerge as one of the
most attractive and lucra-
tive countries for foreign
investors in recent years.
Notably, in 2013, foreign
direct investment (FDI)
represented $3.5 bil-
Dominykas Broga
lion and was 350 percent
above its 2011 levels. The
saw more investments
and the rates of invest-
ment continue to rise.
From China’s and In-
dia’s regional invest-
ments to US and Europe-
an grants for preferential
renewal of interest in My-
anmar’s economy, there
are important reasons to
consider Myanmar as the
next top spot for foreign
investors.
Located at the cross-
roads between China and
India – two economic
powerhouses – along with
Bangladesh and Thailand,
Myanmar borders over
40 percent of the world’s
population. With a land-
mass the size of Britain
and France combined
(2nd largest in Southeast
Asia and the 40th largest
country in the world), a
population of more than
60 million (24th most
populous country) and
ports lying just above the
Malacca Strait in the In-
dian Ocean – one of the
busiest shipping lanes in
the world – Myanmar of-
fers an unfettered strate-
gic opportunities for easy
access to export and con-
sumption markets.
Myanmar is also at-
tractive for its cheap and
young workforce. Accord-
ing to statistics from the
World Economic Forum,
the country’s working age
population has increased
over the last ten years
and is projected to grow
further. With a median
age of 27, literacy rates
of 92.7 percent and one
of the lowest wages for
manufacturing workers
in the region, the coun-
try’s population becomes
particularly attractive for
manufacturing compa-
nies which aim to coun-
ter increasing costs in the
rest of Southeast Asia.
It is also a goldmine
for extractive industries.
Abundant material re-
serves (oil, gas, precious
metals and stones) are
fuelling the interest of for-
eign investors. The coun-
try’s 20 trillion cubic feet
(tcf) of known natural gas
and over 50 million bar-
A Coca-cola ad is seen on Hotel Yangon’s building in Myanmar’s commercial hub Yangon. Unprecedented
Pepsi, General Motors and Nissan.
JessicaMudditt
“
From China’s and India’s regional
investments to US and European
grants for preferential tariff con-
cessions and renewal of interest
in Myanmar’s economy, there are impor-
tant reasons to consider Myanmar as the
next top spot for foreign investors.”
rels of proven oil reserves
(more than Thailand and
Brunei Darussalam) place
it 41st and 78th in the
world, respectively. More
importantly, explorers
have only drilled a total
wells since 1970s, mean-
ing that the country re-
mains almost completely
unexplored. It is expected
that in addition to the cur-
rent 20 tcf reserves, there
could be another 80 tcf of
undiscovered resources
worth $424 billion.
Besides natural endow-
ments and human capital,
Myanmar is also becom-
ing attractive due to its
recent economic growth,
liberalisation policies and
increasing consumerist
demands.
Myanmar currently
boasts the fastest growth
pace among ASEAN na-
tions. Its 2013 GDP
growth was an impressive
6.8 percent. Since the
opening up of its economy
in 2011, it grew at rates of
5.3 percent and 5.5 per-
cent in 2011 and 2012,
respectively. With World
Bank and Asian Develop-
ment Bank estimates of
7-9 percent yearly growth
until 2030 and a forecast
by McKinsey stating that
Myanmar’s economy will
quadruple by 2030, the
projections add up to an
jrefrmEdkifiHonf ESpf 50 Mum
ppftkyfcsKyfrIatmufwGif&Sdae&mrS
2011 ckESpfwGif t&yfom;tpdk;&
vufatmufodkY&&SdvmNyDjzpfonf/
EdkifiHa&;jyKjyifajymif;vJrItm; vlrI
a&;? pD;yGm;a&;jyKjyifajymif;vJrI
rsm;jzifhpwifum EdkifiHwum&if;ESD;
jr§KyfESHolrsm;tm; qGJaqmifum
tm&S aemufqkH;aomaps;uGuf
rsm;rS wpfcktm; zGifhvSpf&ef pwif
vdkufNyDjzpfonf/
'kwd,urÇmppftNyD; tm&S
tcsrf;omqkH;EdkifiHrsm;wGif tyg
t0ifjzpfcJhonfh jrefrmEdkifiHonf
ppftkyfcsKyfa&;atmufwGif txD;
usefEdkifiHtjzpf owfrSwfcH&um
2013 ckESpfwGif urÇmhtqif;&JqkH;
EdkifiHrsm;rS wpfcktjzpf owfrSwfcH
xm;&onf/odkYaomf jrefrmtae
jzifh rMumrDESpfrsm;u EdkifiHjcm;&if;ESD;
jr§KyfESHrIrsm;tm; qGJaqmifEdkifcJhNyD;
xGef;opfpEdkifiHwpfcktjzpf jyef
vnfxGufay:vmrnfjzpfonf/
2013 ckESpftwGif; EdkifiHjcm;&if;ESD;
jr§KyfESHrIonf tar&duefa':vm
3 'or 5 bDvD,H&&SdcJhNyD; 2011

May 22-28, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 6
annual growth rate that is
greater than China’s.
The country’s fast ur-
banisation also continues
to fuel demands for more
sophisticated products
and the presence of for-
eign companies. It is es-
timated that, by 2017, the
proportion of upper mass
-
hold segments in the cit-
ies will reach 80 percent
of the total number of
households. Hence, the
demand for quality and
diversity of products is
likely to increase.
Finally, while the gov-
ernment seems to have
learned the lessons of the
past, the unwillingness
to reform politically and
economically are rapidly
giving way to openness
and liberalisation policies
that are friendly to for-
eign capital.
Private banks are now
allowed to engage in the
foreign exchange market.
The currency exchange
rate has been changed
Bank of Myanmar. The
2012 Foreign Investment
Law set out an easy land
lease policy while allow-
for foreign companies
along with foreign-owned
investment of up to 100
percent. The govern-
ment also signed the New
York Convention on the
Enforcement of Foreign
Arbitral Awards in 2013
and a bilateral investment
treaty with Japan in order
to cultivate a positive in-
vestment climate in the
country.
In addition, the Myan-
mar government has es-
tablished a National Hu-
man Rights Commission
and instituted amnesty
for political prisoners. It
has put in place new la-
bour laws allowing un-
ions and strikes and has
relaxed press and me-
dia censorship in order
to improve the political
and social environment
for businesses. These re-
forms continue to create a
positive investment envi-
ronment and increase in-
terest from foreign capital
holders.
Despite the positive de-
velopments, investing in
Myanmar, however, re-
mains a complex process.
The conditions are any-
thing but optimal, politi-
cal stability is shaky and
legal certainty is virtually
zero. These risks threaten
-
dence that the country
has been steadily gaining
from foreign investors.
In 2013, the World Bank
ranked Myanmar 182nd
out of 189 countries for
the ease of doing busi-
ness.
Myanmar remains a
very underdeveloped
country with rough ter-
rain, poor transportation
and weak communica-
tion infrastructure, thus
creating high set-up costs
for many companies. As
many areas remain inac-
cessible by road, connec-
parts of the country are
-
spite its abundant natural
resources, the country it-
energy shortages with
only 22 percent of the
population having ac-
cess to electricity in 2011.
Moreover, only about 1
million cellphones are
available in Myanmar,
making connectivity ex-
Politically, despite the
budding civilian govern-
military remains a great
concern. Over 25 percent
of the MPs remain ap-
pointed by military. My-
anmar scores very low on
government investment
in key necessities as well
-
tiveness and regulatory
quality. While the govern-
ment has taken measures
to improve transparency
and governance frame-
works, the business cli-
mate continues to be rela-
tively non-transparent,
with pervasive corruption
legal frameworks for for-
eign companies that still
lack the clear rules and
regulations necessary for
-
ment.
Finally, many of the
country’s long-running
civil wars remain unre-
solved, though there are
the government and the
non-state armed groups
to reach a peace agree-
ment. Sectarian tensions
between Buddhist and
Muslim communities
fuel instability in some
parts of the country, thus
threatening the stable in-
vestment environment.
Today, the world is
undoubtedly interested
in Asia’s last frontier.
Myanmar emerges as a
relatively untouched eco-
nomic canvass with great
resources ready for for-
eign investment. While
the future seems prom-
ising for the liberalising
country and those di-
rectly involved in the de-
velopment of Myanmar,
the current hype among
investors should be tem-
pered with a pinch of re-
ality and an awareness of
the risks of doing busi-
ness here.
With an unstable legal
framework, political un-
certainties, societal ten-
sions, development issues
and marginal economic
reforms, investment in
Myanmar remains a busi-
ness for risk takers. Yet,
since the government is
taking measures to im-
prove, those who evalu-
ate the risks and oppor-
tunities and are willing to
stay the course from the
investment El Dorado in
Myanmar.
Dominykas Broga is a
geopolitical risk analyst
at Global Risk Insights
with a focus on frontier
and emerging markets.
His experience ranges
from his endeavors at
the United Nations to his
work on government af-
fairs, public relations and
research projects on con-
tentious politics. He can
be reached at dominykas.
broga@gmail.com.
Temples at Myanmar’s top tourist attraction site, the ancient city of Bagan. Myanmar’s opening up has
spiked the tourist arrival number to over 2 million last year.
SherpaHossainy
“
Myanmar remains a very underde-
veloped country with rough ter-
rain, poor transportation and weak
communication infrastructure,
thus creating high set-up costs for many
companies. Despite its abundant natu-
ral resources, the country itself suffers
from chronic energy shortages with only
22 percent of the population having ac-
cess to electricity in 2011.”
Phyu Thit Lwin
J
apan’s Sumitomo Corp,
NTT Communications
Corp and NEC Corp were
awarded the 42nd
International
Telecommunication Union –
Association of Japan (ITU-AJ)
Award by the ITU-AJ for con-
tributions to the “Project for
Urgent Improvement of Com-
munication Networks” in My-
The project was completed in
January 2014 and marked the
project to utilise overseas devel-
opment assistance from Japan
following the Japanese govern-
ment’s change in economic pol-
icy with Myanmar since 2012.
In this project, Sumitomo,
NTT and NEC formed a consor-
tium to install the equipment
necessary for supporting com-
munication infrastructure and
improving the environment for
accessing the internet.
“As a result of building this
communication infrastructure,
-
provement in the infrastructure
that supports economic activity
and daily life in Myanmar,” the
This communications infra-
structure has delivered tel-
ecommunications for the 27th
SEA Games, which took place
in Myanmar in December last
as the chair of ASEAN for 2014,
will be able to capitalise on its
newly implemented commu-
nications infrastructure while
hosting a wide range of interna-
tional conferences.
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
ing to strengthen the rail net-
work in the northeast and add-
ed that funding from the Asian
Development Bank and World
Bank would be welcome in this.
The northeast region remains
one of the most underdevel-
oped regions in India.
He said the “Economic Re-
search Institute for Asean and
East Asia (ERIA) has already
done a study projecting the po-
tential for the sea-link between
Dawei, in southeastern Myan-
mar, and Chennai”.
“Maritime connectivity can be
strengthened further between
India, Myanmar, Thailand,
Cambodia and Vietnam and pro-
duction chains established from
the Mekong region to the Delhi-
Mumbai Industrial Corridor and
the Mumbai-Bangaluru-Chen-
nai Industrial Corridor."
ckESpfxuf 350 &mcdkifEIef; wdk;wuf
cJhonf/2013 ckESpf yxrokH;v
ywftwGif; &if;ESD;jr§KyfESHrIrsm;onf
2012 ckESpf yxrESpf0ufxuf
ydkrdkcJhNyD; &if;ESD;jr§KyfESHrIEIef; ydkrdk
wdk;wufcJhonf/
w½kwfESifh tdEd´,tMum;wGif
wnf&SdaeNyD; b*Fvm;a'h&Sf? xdkif;
EdkifiH ponfh urÇmhvlOD;a& 40
&mcdkifEIef;&Sdonfh tqdkygEdkifiHwdkY
ESifh e,fedrdwfxdpyfaeonfh jrefrm
EdkifiHonf aps;enf;vkyfom; aps;
uGufrsm;jzifh &if;ESD;jr§KyfESHrIrsm;
tm;qGJaqmifvsuf&Sdonf/
*syefEdkifiH Sumitomo Corp, NTT
Communications Corp ESifh NEC
Corp
“ProjectforUrgentImprovement
pDrH
udef;twGif; vkyfaqmifcsufrsm;twGuf
42ndInternationalTelecommunication
Union – Association of Japan (ITU-
AJ)qktm; ITU-AJ rS csD;jr§ifhcJhaMumif;
od&onf/
jynfe,frsm;ESifh jrefrmtm; pD;yGm;a&;ESifh
ul;oef;a&mif;0,fa&;rsm;tm; ul;vl;
qufoG,fay;rnfhbwfpfum;0efaqmifrI
tm;pwifrnfjzpfaMumif;tdE´d,xdyfwef;
tpdk;&wm0ef&SdolrS ajymMum;xm;onf/
tqdkygbufpfum;0efaqmifrItm;
tdEd´,ta&SUajrmufbuf&Sd rPdyl&jynf
e,f tifzmESifh jrefrmEdkifiH rEÅav;NrdKU
awmfwdkYtm; ajy;qGJrnfjzpfjyD; tjcm;vrf;
jzpfonfh rDZdk&rfjynfe,fESifh jrefrmEdkifiH
wdkYtm; qufoG,frnfjzpfaMumif; tdEd´,
EdkifiHjcm;a&;0efMuD;XmetwGif;a&;rSL;
Anil Wadhwa rS ajymMum;cJhonf/
tdE´d,taejzifhtqdkygvkyfief;rsm;ESifh
&if;ESD;jr§KyfESHrIrsm;twGuftmqD,H10Edkif
iHESifhukefoG,fcGefuif;vGwfcGifhvufrSwf
rsm;tm;,ckESpftwGif;a&;xdk;rnfjzpfNyD;
2009ckESpfuvnf;tmqD,H ESifhukefoG,f
cGefuif;vGwfcGifhvufrSwfa&;xdk;cJh
aMumif; od&onf/

May 22-28, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
7LOCAL BIZ
Myanmar Summary
Contd. P 8... Contd. P 8...
Jack Sheehan &
Bernard Cobarrubias
M
yanmar contin-
ues to push tax
reforms with the
laws. Notable changes in-
clude amendments to the
personal income tax rates
and their application; ex-
pansion of the scope of
Commercial Tax (CT) on
services; and adjustment
to stamp duty rates.
On 28 March, the Union
of Myanmar Revenue Law
of 2014 and four other tax
bills were signed into law
2014. The Revenue Law of
2014 essentially legislates
and introduces changes
to the rates for Income
Tax and CT, which were
previously determined
the Minister of Finance
and Revenue. The other
new laws include separate
amendments to the In-
come Tax Law, Commer-
cial Tax Law, the Stamp
Duty Law and the Court
Fee Act.
Below is a comparison
tions introduced by the
new laws:
1. The Personal Income
tax (PIT) rates and in-
come bands have been
changed. The top rate
has increased to 25 per-
cent from the old 20 per-
cent. The income band
rates have been adjusted.
For instance, under the
old law, the exempt in-
come band was only up to
K500,000, but now it has
increased to K2,000,000
(Table 1).
2. The available ex-
emptions for Myanmar
residents having children
and/or spouses have also
been increased (Table 2).
3. Income by individu-
als from profession, busi-
ness, property and other
income are now subject
to tax in the same way as
tax on salary. Previously,
such types of income were
subject to an income tax of
2 to 30 percent. Under the
new law, all these types of
income are added togeth-
er with salary and subject
to the income bands and
tax rates in Table 1.
4. Under the old income
tax law, a person wishing
to purchase immovable
property was required to
prove the source of the
funds to be used for the
purchase. If the individu-
al cannot prove the source
of the funds, a 30 percent
tax on “income from un-
disclosed sources” would
be applied to the purchase
price.
Under the new Union
Revenue Law, a person
buying property for the
a slight reprieve. “Income
that has escaped assess-
ment” will now be subject
to a graduated rate of 3-30
percent of income tax for
sequent purchases, how-
ever, will be subject to 30
percent (Table 3).
5. The new Union Reve-
nue Law retains the same
Corporate Income (CIT)
rate of 25 percent that
was applied under the
However, newly set-up
small and medium enter-
prises shall not be subject
to income tax for a period
of three years or until the
enterprise earns revenue
in excess of K5,000,000,
6. The amendments to
the Income Tax Law men-
tions “self-assessment” by
the tax payer. In general,
in the self-assessment
system, the taxpayer
bears the responsibility
of declaring, computing
and paying his or her own
income tax. In this sys-
tem, the assessment by
the tax authority comes
at a later time through a
subsequent tax audit. Un-
der the current practice in
Myanmar, the taxpayer
submits the tax returns,
but does not pay until the
returns are assessed by
ment order is made. This
system can make pay-
ment and collection of tax
rather time-consuming
It is unclear for now
whether the inclusion
of the term “self-assess-
ment” will pave the way
for a self-assessment sys-
tem in Myanmar.
1. CT now applies to all
types of services unless
This is reverse of the pre-
vious rule that CT does
not apply to services un-
for. Thus, CT will be ap-
plied in a greater number
of services. It is unclear,
however, whether service
providers can now claim
CT input credits.
DFDL
cally exempt by the Union
Revenue Law of 2014 are:
house rental, car park-
ing, life insurance, mi-
education, transportation
of goods, services of em-
ployment agencies, bank-
ing, customs clearance,
renting out objects such
as tables, chairs or crock-
ery for social functions,
licensed slaughtering of
DFDL
Table 1
Table 2
jynfaxmifpkor®wjrefrmEdkifiH
2014 ckESpf tcGefOya'ESifh
tjcm;tcGefOya'av;cktm;

May 22-28, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 8
animals, contract manu-
facturing, funeral servic-
es, container transport,
child nursery, Myanmar
traditional massage/mas-
sage performed by a blind
person, moving services,
services for which a road
toll is charged, animal
health care, services con-
sisting in the provision of
public toilets, outbound
air transport services, ser-
vices concerning culture
and art, information tech-
nology and management
consultancy services, and
public transport services
(bus, railway and ferry).
2. No CT shall be as-
sessed from businesses in
the cooperative sector or
private sector if their sale
proceeds or revenue from
services do not exceed the
amounts mentioned in
Table 4.
3. Similar to the old law,
CT generally applies to
the manufacture and sale,
trading and importation
of all types of goods. Un-
der the new law, there are
still a number of goods
exempt from CT when
produced in Myanmar,
but subject to CT when
they are imported. These
consist mostly of agricul-
tural and other essential
goods. There are also a
number of goods that
are exempt from CT irre-
spective of whether they
DFDL
DFDL
DFDLDFDL
DFDL
DFDL
Table 3 Table 5
Table 6
Table 7
Table 4
are imported produced
and sold or traded in the
country. These include
fertilisers, insecticides,
medical equipment, text-
books, military equip-
ment, among others.
4. Schedule 6 to the
Commercial Tax Law
goods whose import or
sale within Myanmar
carries a higher rate of
CT than the standard
5 percent applicable to
most goods. The rates
contained in Schedule 6
stayed the same except for
the changes mentioned in
Table 5.
Table 8
5. Export CT applies
to crude oil (5 percent),
natural gas (5 percent),
teak and hardwood logs
(50 percent), jade, rubies,
sapphires, etc. (30 per-
cent) and jewellery made
from jade, rubies, sap-
phires, etc. (10 percent).
6. Local entrepreneurs
and state-owned enter-
prises get a break from
CT. In order to encour-
age competition with im-
ported goods, only 2 per-
cent CT is levied on the
proceeds from the sale of
goods which are produced
and sold by registered
citizen entrepreneurs or
production businesses
owned by citizen entre-
preneurs or state-owned
enterprises.
The Stamp Act has been
amended in many re-
cant change is the amend-
ment to Section 20 which
pertains to the taxation
of foreign currency de-
nominated documents.
Section 20 now reverts to
the older rule of merely
converting the foreign
currency to Myanmar
Kyat and applying the
regular ad valorem rate.
For most documents, the
erstwhile rule of 1 percent
rate for foreign currency
denominated documents
can be steep compared
to documents denomi-
nated in Kyat. There are
a few documents where
the defunct 1 percent rate
is lower, such as for in-
stance conveyances which
apply a 3 to 5 percent rate
of SD. The most relevant
changes to the Stamp Act
are depicted in Table 6.
Jack Sheehan is part-
ner, Regional Tax Prac-
tice Group, and Bernard
Cobarrubias is director,
Regional Tax Practice, at
Mekong Region-focused
They can be reached at
jack.sheehan@dfdl.com
and bernard.cobarrubi-
as@dfdl.com respectively.
rwfv 28 &ufwGif jy|mef;cJhNyD;
tqdkygOya'rsm;onf 2014ckESpf
{jyDv 1 &ufaeYwGif pwif
touf0ifNyDjzpfonf/2014 ckESpf
tcGefOya'wGif 0ifaiGcGefESifh
ukefoG,fcGefEIef;xm;topfrsm;
yg0ifvmonf/tjcm;Oya'topf
2 ckrSm 0ifaiGcGef? ukefoG,fcGef?
wHqdyfacgif;cGefESifh½kH;cGefOya'rsm;
tm; jyifqifonfh Oya'rsm;jzpf
onf/
wpfOD;csif;0ifaiGcGefEIef;xm;rsm;
tm; ajymif;vJxm;onf/tjrifhqkH;
EIef;xm;tm; ,cif 20 &mcdkif
EIef;rS 25 &mcdkifEIef;odkY wdk;jr§ifh
xm;onf/ ,cifu wpfESpfvQif
0ifaiGig;odef;txufrsm;om
aumufcH&mrS ,cktcg odef; 20
odkY wdk;jr§ifhxm;onf/
tdrfaxmif&Sif? uav;&Sdolrsm;
tay: 0ifaiGcGefavQmhayghay;rI
EIef;xm;rsm;vnf;wdk;jr§ifhxm;onf/
tvkyftudkif? vkyfief;? ydkifqdkifrI
wdkYrS&&Sdonfh0ifaiGrsm;tm; vpm
aiGrS aumufcHonfh 0ifaiGcGef
wpfckxJatmufwGifaumufcHrnf
jzpfonf/,cifu tqdkyg0ifaiG
cGefrsm;tm; 2 &mcdkifEIef;rS 30
&mcdkifEIef;txd aumufcHcJhaomf
vnf; ,cktcgwGif 0ifaiGcGef
taejzifh xm;&SdaumufcHrnfjzpf
onf/
,cif 0ifaiGcGefOya'wGif ra&TU
ajymif;Edkifonfhypönf;rsm;tm;
0,f,lrnfqdkygu 0ifaiG&&m
taxmuftxm;rsm;jyo&efvdktyf
NyD; xdkodkYrjyoEdkifygu 0,f,lrnfh
ypönf;wefzdk; 30 &mcdkifEIef;tm;
t&if;tjrpfrazmfjyEdkifonfh0ifaiG
tjzpf 0ifaiGcGefaumufcHrnfjzpf
onf/,cktcGefOya'wGif ra&GU
ajymif;Edkifonfhypönf;tm; 0ifaiG
&&mtaxmuftxm;rjyoEdkif
bJ yxrtBudrf0,f,loljzpfygu
0ifaiGcGef 3 &mcdkifEIef;rS 30 &mcdkif
EIef; avQmhayghaumufcHrnfjzpfNyD;
aemufydkif;0,f,lrIrsm;tm; 30
&mcdkifEIef;aumufcHrnfjzpfonf/
,cktcGefOya'topfwGiftoif;
tzGJU0ifaiGcGefEIef;xm;tm; ,cif
Oya'uJhodkYyif 25 &mcdkifEIef; owf
rSwfxm;onf/odkYaomf tao;pm;
ESifh tvwfpm;vkyfief;rsm;tae
jzifh 0ifaiGcGef okH;ESpf (odkYr[kwf)
0ifaiG odef; 50 r&&SdorQumv
ywfvHk; tcGefuif;vGwfcGifh&&Sdrnf
jzpfonf/
tcGefOya'opft& tcGefxrf;
udk,fwdkiftcGefpnf;Muyfonfhpepf
tm; tokH;jyKrnfjzpfNyD; tcGef
cGeftm; udk,fwdkifwGufcsufay;
aqmif&rnfjzpfonf/jrefrmEdkifiH
wGif vuf&SdusifhokH;aeonfhpepf
onf tcGefxrf;rsm;taejzifh tcGef
yrmPtm; wifoGif;&rnfjzpfNyD;
tcGeft&m&SdrS ppfaq;aumufcH
onfhtcgrS ay;oGif;&jcif;jzpf
onf/tcGefxrff;udk,fwdkif tcGef
pnf;Muyfonfhpepfonf jrefrm
EdkifiHESifh udkufnDrI&Sd? r&SdrSm apmifh
Munfh&OD;rnfjzpfonf/
ukefoG,fcGefOya'opft&
uif;vGwfcGifhjyKxm;onfrsm;rSty
tjcm;vkyfief;rsm;tm;vkH; tcGef
ay;aqmif&rnfjzpfonf/ ,ck
Oya'onf owfrSwfxm;onfh
vkyfief;rsm;udkom tcGefaumufcH
aponfh ,cifukefoG,fcGefESifh
qefYusifbufjzpfonf/xdkYaMumifh
,ckukefoG,fcGefOya'onfvkyfief;
ta&twGuf rsm;pGmtay:wGif
oufa&mufrnfjzpfonf/
“
The new Union Revenue Law re-
tains the same Corporate Income
(CIT) rate of 25 percent that was
applied under the old law and no-
tifications. However, newly set-up small
and medium enterprises shall not be sub-
ject to income tax for a period of three
years or until the enterprise earns
revenue in excess of K5,000,000, which-
ever occurs first.”

May 22-28, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 9
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Phyu Thit Lwin
A
nthem Asia, an inde-
pendent investment and
advisory group building
businesses in Myanmar, has in-
vested in a new Yangon-based
PR and digital marketing agen-
cy, the company said.
Anthem Asia has taken a sig-
-
viding working capital for Blink,
a start-up headed by a group of
entrepreneurs led by local TV
presenter Stephen Kyaw and
digital specialist Erik Oo.
The total size of the invest-
sum in this phase, Anthem Asia
said in a statement.
Anthem Asia has a large mi-
nority interest in Blink; Ste-
phen Kyaw, Erik Oo and two
other principals of Blink will
hold the remainder.
“Marketing and communi-
cations is a business services
sector where well-run domes-
tic brands can match the best
international competitors,” Jo-
sephine Price, co-founder and
managing director of Anthem
Asia, said.
“With a population estimated
at more than 60 million people,
the demand for locally-based
marketing and communications
expertise will become more im-
portant as Myanmar becomes
market in the coming years,”
she said.
Price added: “The Blink team
represents the future of the new
Myanmar – young, smart, ener-
getic with bags of ambition.”
Blink became Anthem Asia’s
second communications-relat-
established Zagar Communica-
tions to provide marketing and
communications services for
foreign clients and third-party
PR agencies based outside the
country.
The company’s other invest-
ments include Hintha Business
services provider, which opened
in September last year in down-
town Yangon. Subsequently,
Anthem Asia has invested in
Thahara, a marketing and man-
-
cess to small, unique properties
across Myanmar.
Anthem Asia was co-founded
by Josephine Price and Gene-
vieve Heng, both of whom have
investment and private equity
experience growing companies
in emerging Asian markets.
-
-
vestments of between $100,000
and about $1.5 million.
Many small- and medium-
sized businesses could not ef-
fectively absorb greater initial
quantities of capital, while
many require expertise and ad-
said.
Asia Fail to Meet Transparency Standards: Group
Kyaw Min
M
ost companies operat-
ing in Myanmar and
the rest of Southeast
Asia fail to meet international
standards and best practice
related to transparency, UK-
group Business & Human
Rights Resource Centre (BHR-
RC) said.
The group said when it seeks
public responses from compa-
allegations in Myanmar, the
response rate is 47 percent – in
contrast to a global response
rate of over 70 percent.
BHRRC said the sectors ap-
proached most frequently re-
garding allegations in Myanmar
are oil, gas and coal (almost half
or 47 percent of these approach-
-
ance (19 percent) – illustrating
the exposure of this sector to
allegations of involvement as
linked to human rights abuses,
tourism (10 percent) and dam-
building or hydropower pro-
jects (8 percent).
Telecoms and internet provid-
ers are also likely to come under
increased scrutiny – including
and to protect privacy and free-
dom of expression, BHRRC said.
The group also noted that
when it seeks responses from
companies for alleged abuses
in Southeast Asia, the response
rate from Asian companies is
also 47 percent; whereas the re-
sponse rate among companies
based outside Asia for alleged
abuses in Southeast Asia is 74
percent.
Companies doing business in
Myanmar and in Southeast Asia
should make vital information
about their policies and opera-
tions publicly available, espe-
cially those related to their hu-
man rights practices, BHRRC
The organisation emphasised
that investment in Myanmar
must be accompanied by re-
sponsible practices and respect
for human rights: for example,
some areas of greatest concern
include people displaced for hy-
dropower, mining and agribusi-
ness projects who should be
adequately consulted and given
fair compensation; and work-
ers who should be guaranteed
a living wage and the right to
organise.
BHRRC referred to the UN
Guiding Principles on Business
and Human Rights as a source
of guidance on how companies
should communicate externally
and provide a measure of trans-
parency and accountability to
individuals or groups who may
be impacted by their business,
including investors.
According to its Executive
Director Phil Bloomer, “Trans-
to underpin economic reforms,
companies’ respect for human
rights. It is vital to companies’
social license to operate, es-
pecially in contexts that pose
risks of severe human rights
impacts.”
Explaining its company re-
sponse process, BHRRC said
when the organisation receives
allegations that a company has
abused human rights, its re-
searchers contact the company
immediately and invite a public
response: before making both
the allegations and response
available on its website.
BHRRC said the organisation
too often dominated by rheto-
ric, and to help protect vulner-
able people and communities
against abuses.” It also provides
guidance materials and exam-
ples of good practice, to help
companies understand their
human rights responsibilities.
Over the past 10 years that it
has been covering Southeast
Asia, the organisation said it
has observed that seeking re-
sponses from local and region-
al companies has been more
challenging, “due to the lack of
publicly available information
about the companies them-
selves, as well as their failure or
neglect to recognise the impor-
tance of responding publicly to
human rights concerns.”
Bloomer said: “With the dra-
matic increase in investment
in Myanmar, communities and
-
ly, but there is an equal danger
of substantial abuse such as
forced displacement of people
from their homes and land,
poverty wages, and dangerous
conditions at work.
must take is to communicate
other stakeholders by providing
public information about their
plans and human rights policies.
can there be hope that growing
investment will bring shared
prosperity and shared security
to the people of Myanmar.”
-
jects are one of the greatest concerns for Myanmar. People displaced through the projects should be adequately consulted and
given fair compensation; and workers should be guaranteed a living wage and the right to organise, BHRRC said.
SoeZeyaTun/Reuters
jrefrmEdkifiHESifhta&SUawmiftm&SEdkifiH
rsm;wGif vkyfudkifvsuf&Sdonfh ukrÜPD
trsm;pkonf yGifhvif;jrifomrIqdkif&m
tjynfjynfqdkif&mpHEIef;rsm;tm;vdkufem
usifhokH;&ef tm;enf;vsuf&Sdaeao;
aMumif; NAdwdeftajcpdkufvlUtcGifhhta&;
tzGJU Business & Human Rights
Resource Centre (BHRRC) rS ajym
Mum;vdkufonf/
tqdkygtzGJUrS jrefrmEdkifiHrS vlUtcGifh
ta&;qdkif&m pGyfpGJrIrsm;twGuf ukrÜPD
rsm; vlxktay: wkefYjyefcsufrsm;tm;
apmifhMunfhcJhNyD; urÇmwpf0Srf;wkefYjyefrI
70 &mcdkifEIef;ausmfteufrS jrefrmEdkifiH
wGif 47 &mcdkifEIef;&SdaeaMumif; od&onf/
BHRRC rS jrefrmEdkifiHwGif vlUtcGifh
ta&;qdkif&mpGyfpGJcsufrsm;&Sdonfrsm;tm;
u@tvdkufvkyfaqmifcJhjcif;jzpfNyD;
a&eHESifhobm0"mwfaiGUrS 47 &mcdkifEIef;?
aiGaMu;?bPfESifhtmrcHvkyfief;rsm;rS
19 &mcdkifEIef;&SdNyD; c&D;oGm;vkyfief;wGif
10&mcdkifEIef;?a&tm;vQyfppfESifha&avSmif
wrHwnfaqmufa&;wdkYwGif 8 &mcdkifEIef;
&SdaMumif; od&onf/
jrefrmEdkifiHwGif pD;yGm;a&;vkyfief;vkyf
udkifaeonfh vGwfvyfonfh &if;ESD;jr§KyfESH
rIESifh tBuHay;ukrÜPD Anthem Asia
taejzifh&efukeftajcpdkufowif;xkwfjyef
a&;ESifh'pf*spfw,faps;uGufjzefYcsda&;
ukrÜPDwpfckwGif &if;ESD;jr§KyfESHcJhaMumif;
od&onf/
Anthem Asia taejzifh jynfwGif;
wDAGDtpDtpOfaMunmol Stephen
Kyaw ESifh 'pf*spfw,fuRrf;usifol
Erik Oo wdkY OD;aqmifonfh pGefYOD;wDxGif
oltzGJU Blink wGif &if;ESD;jr§KyfESHum?
rwnfaiGaxmufyHhay;rnfjzpfonf/
&if;ESD;jr§KyfESHrIyrmPrSm *Pef;ajcmuf
vkH;yrmP&Sdonf[k Anthem Asia rS
Anthem Asia taejzifh Blink wGif
&S,f,mtrsm;pkydkifqdkifrnfjzpfNyD;
Stephen Kyaw, Erik Oo ESifh
tjcm;wnfaxmifolESpfOD;wdkYrSm Blink
wGif qufvufwnf&Sdaernfjzpfonf/

May 22-28, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 10
Contd. P 12...
Contd. P 12...
Fewer than 30 percent of people in Myanmar have access to electricity, and investment is vital. But the danger is this will come at
the expense of the poor
U
Mya Hlaing sits on a
ral home an hour down
the river from Yangon, explain-
ing how in a short time, he
expects to lose it in the name
paddy rice, along with those
of his village and neighbours,
have been designated as a spe-
cial economic zone. They will
be bulldozed to make way for
ject of the Japan International
Co-operation Agency (JICA) in
co-operation with the Myanmar
government and Japanese and
Myanmar companies. Electron-
ics and garments factories will
replace his homestead.
U Mya Hlaing does not op-
pose the project, he just wants
to be fairly treated so he can
start again with his community,
Thilawa, in a new place, so he
can bring up his children with
enough food to last the year.
Instead, he says, the project
is moving ahead while the local
explains that there has been “no
conversation, no replacement
land, no adequate compensa-
tion”. However, U Mya Hlaing
and his fellow villagers are de-
termined. They have seen what
happened to their neighbours in
notices, delayed only when the
villagers raised their voices and
outside support and media at-
tention forced the Japanese to
pressure the Myanmar govern-
ment to delay the order. But
this development project went
ahead, and about 70 families
were relocated to one-roomed
tiny houses jammed up against
each other.
When we visit these houses,
Daw Win tells us the relocation
is far from what was promised:
at midday she hides with the
children under the house from
the heat, and in the rainy season
she fears that they will be in a
lake of stagnant water and sew-
age from their latrines. There is
no work and no land. The wells
have dirty water. The schools
are far away. Japan-based NGO
Mekong Watch has expressed
its dismay over the conditions
in the relocation site and JICA’s
alleged inaction despite the let-
ters repeatedly sent by the com-
munity members.
This one case, a 2,400Ha land
phor for the development model
of the Myanmar government. It
is courting foreign investment
Bobbie Sta Maria and
Phil Bloomer
(£0.8 billion in 2012-2013, to
£2.1 billion in 2013-104, and a
predicted £2.4 billion in 2014-
2015) to develop the country’s
vast natural resources, and to
spur manufacturing and agri-
culture. Jobs and energy top the
agenda, and in a country where
fewer than 30 percent of the
people have access to electricity
and the average monthly wage
was less than £59 in 2011, there
is no question that investment
is needed.
A number of observers have
described Myanmar’s economy
over the past 26 years as that
of military capitalism. With
the country now opening up to
western companies’ embrace,
the scale of inward investment
is surging. But civil society or-
ganisations are concerned at
the one-sidedness of the busi-
ness deals being struck and the
lack of legal protections for vul-
nerable communities. New laws
being passed may only serve
to encourage more investment
while facilitating land grabs –
such as two land laws adopted
in 2012 (that do not recognise
traditional land use practices
and make it easier for the gov-
ernment to claim land as fallow
and sell or give it away) and the
2013 Foreign Investment Law.
Courts have been reported to be
notoriously corrupt.
Reported human rights abus-
es linked to national and inter-
national investors, as well as the
lack of international standards
in business and human rights,
have led some civil society or-
ganisations to plead with the
government to slow inward in-
vestment until basic guarantees
are in place that investment will
serve the prosperity and human
rights of the majority. So far
there is little sign that this is be-
ing heeded. The only brake re-
ported is the scale and speed of
some government bureaucracy.
The Business & Human Rights
Resource Centre tracks the hu-
man rights impacts of business-
es in Myanmar and related ini-
tiatives. Over the years, we have
sought 120 responses from local
and international companies in
the face of allegations of human
rights abuse in Myanmar. Few-
er than half (47 percent) of the
companies approached felt any
need to respond to explain their
actions.
But there are positive signs.
We have observed an increase
business responsibility, trans-
parency and accountabil-
ity both inside and outside the
country. The US, while drop-
ping its investment sanctions,
now requires companies with
on their human rights, environ-
mental, and other due diligence
policies in Myanmar.
The Organisation for Eco-
nomic Co-operation and De-
velopment has conducted a re-
view of Myanmar’s investment
policies, the International La-
bour Organization has worked
closely with the government to
reform key labour laws, and the
Institute for Human Rights and
Business and the Danish Insti-
tute for Human Rights founded
the Myanmar Centre for Re-
sponsible Business in 2012.
Local groups such as Paung
Ku (which means “bridge” in
Myanmar) have been leading
ty and respect for rights for all,
especially the disadvantaged.
They are trying to bridge the
gap between communities and
business and policy decisions
by building the capacity of lo-
cal groups and enhancing the
groups with business and gov-
ernment.
Civil society has taken full ad-
vantage of the recent political
opening. Trade unions, farm-
ers’ unions, women’s organisa-
tions and NGOs are organising
around demands for human
rights and equitable develop-
ment.
Remarkably, after years of
advocacy by inside and out-
side groups, the government
is poised to submit its applica-
tion to the Extractive Industries
Transparency Initiative (EITI),
which should lead to companies
and government declaring the
revenues from the vast natural
resource of Myanmar in oil, gas,
gems and ores. Quite how this
will happen in a country where
the military controls large
swathes of the economy with
opaque companies will be a
puzzle for the EITI to solve. But
the government has convened
a multi-stakeholder group of
civil society, business and gov-
ernment representatives to lead
the EITI process.
Myanmar Summary
Workers at a shoe factory in Pakokku, Ayearwaddy region. Civil society organisations are concerned at the one-sidedness of
the business deals being struck after Myanmar’s opening up, and the lack of legal protections for vulnerable communities.
JessicaMudditt
“
A number of observers have described My-
anmar’s economy over the past 26 years as
that of military capitalism. With the country
now opening up to western companies’
embrace, the scale of inward investment is surg-
ing. But civil society organisations are concerned
at the one-sidedness of the business deals being
struck and the lack of legal protections for vul-
nerable communities.”
OD;jrvIdifonf &efukefrS a&vrf;jzifh
Murf;ay:xdkifum zGHUNzdK;a&;[lonfh trnf
t&mav;rsm;taMumif;udk tcsdefwdk
uGufESifhteD;0ef;usifa'orsm;onftxl;
pD;yGm;a&;Zkeftjzpf owfrSwfcHxm;&jcif;
tpdk;&? *syeftjynfjynfqdkif&m yl;aygif;
aqmif&Gufa&;at*sifpD (JICA) wdkY
zGHUNzdK;a&;pDrHudef;azmfaqmifrItjzpf bl'dkZm
wdkYaexdkif&mae&mrsm;tm; vQyfppfypönf;
ESifh txnfcsKyfpuf½Hkrsm;rS 0ifa&muf
tpm;xdk;awmhrnfjzpfonf/
OD;jrvIdiftaejzifh tqdkygpDrHudef;tm;
rsm; pm;0wfaea&;tqifajyEdkifrnfh
usifESifh jyefvnfpwifEdkif&ef qE´&Sdae
vufvkyfudkifvsuf&Sdaomfvnf; a'ocH
rsm;rSm ydkrdkusyfwnf;vmaMumif;ESifh tqdk
ygpDrHudef;twGufrnfonfhajrtpm;xdk;
avsmfay;rI? avsmfaMu;ay;rIESifhrnfonfh
xdef;odrf;a&SmufrIrQr&&SdaMumif;udkvnf;
&Gmom;rsm;uawmh qkH;jzwfcsufcsNyD;jzpf
wpfESpf0ef;usifu yxrtokwftjzpf
oGm;a&mufcJhonfh &Gmom;rsm; BuHKawGU&
onfhjyóemrsm;tm; jrifawGUcJh&NyD;jzpf
onf/tqdkygyxrtokwftaejzifh OD;pGm

May 22-28, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 11
Contd. P 12...
Myanmar Summary
Phyu Thit Lwin
U
S President Barack
Obama extended
some economic
sanctions against Myan-
mar for another year on
Thursday last week, say-
ing the step is needed
despite some progress
on reforms made by the
Southeast Asian nation.
ers of Congress in a letter
that he was renewing for
another year the National
Emergencies Act, which
prohibits US businesses
and individuals from in-
vesting in Myanmar or
doing business with My-
repression of the democ-
racy movement since the
mid-1990s.
“Despite great strides
that Burma has made in
ation in the country con-
tinues to pose an unusual
and extraordinary threat
to the national security
and foreign policy of the
United States,” Obama
said.
“The political open-
ing remains nascent, and
concerns persist regard-
human rights abuses in
ethnic minority areas,
particularly in Rakhine
state, and the continued
role of the military in the
country’s political and
economic activities.”
US President Barack Obama speaks to the National Governors Association in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington.
KevinLamarque/Reuters
US Campaign for Myanmar
(USCB)rStjcm;vlUtcGifhta&;
tzGJUtpnf; 28ckESifhtwl tar&d
uefor®wtdkbm;rm;tm; jrefrm
EdkifiHtay:trsKd;om;ta&;tay:
pDrHcsuf (National Emergency)
qufvufxm;&Sd&ef wddkufwGef;cJh
onf/
tqdkyg National Emergency
wGif tmPmydkifrsm;tm; jrefrm
EdkifiH ppfbufqdkif&mwGif tar&d
uef&if;ESD;jr§KyfESHcGifhtm; ydwfyif
jcif;ESifh jrefrmEdkifiHwGif &if;ESD;
jr§KyfESHrItwGuf vdktyfonfh tpD
&ifcHpmrsm;qdkif&m vkyfydkifcGifhrsm;
yg0ifygonf/
National Emergency
onf,ckvwGifoufwrf;ukefqkH;
rnfjzpfonf/{NyDvtwGif;uvnf;
USCommissiononInternational
Religious Freedom rS tqdkyg
pDrHcsuftm;oufwrf;wdk;&eftwGuf
wdkufwGef;cJhao;onf/
,cktcg tdkbm;rm;utqdkyg
Oya'tm; oufwrf;wpfESpf
xyfrHwdk;jrSifhvdkufonf/
Obama, who visited My-
anmar in 2012, said the
Myanmar government
progress in a number of
critical areas” such as the
release of more than 1,100
political prisoners, pro-
gress toward a nationwide
of unions, taking steps to
improve the country’s la-
bour standards and allow-
ing greater freedom of as-
sociation and expression.
He also lauded My-
anmar’s signing of the
Additional Protocol to
its Comprehensive Safe-
guards Agreement with
the International Atomic
Energy Agency, calling
wards supporting the
nonproliferation of nu-
clear weapons.”
A year ago Obama lifted
a 1996 ban on granting
US entry visas to Myan-
mar’s military rulers and
their business partners
and immediate family.
Earlier on May 6, the US
Campaign for Myanmar
(USCB), along with 28
other human rights or-
ganisations, urged Presi-
dent Obama to continue
the national emergency
with respect to Myanmar.
“President Obama must
renew Myanmar invest-
ment sanctions to make
clear that the US supports
democratic progress and
constitutional reform that
will ensure free and fair
elections in 2015,” said
USCB Policy Director Ra-
chel Wagley.
The concerns and ra-
tionale for continuing
the national emergency
in 2013 persist and “have
even worsened,” USCB
Last year, the Obama
Administration cited per-
sisting concerns such as
continued arrests and de-
and human rights abuses
in ethnic minority areas,
obstruct the political re-
form process, and the
country’s military rela-
tionship with the Demo-
cratic People’s Republic
of Korea.
USCB said throughout
2014, journalists, farm-
ers, activists, human
rights defenders, and
ethnic minorities have
continued to be arrested
at alarmingly high rates.
Earlier this year, four
journalists and the CEO
of the Yangon-based Uni-
ty Journal were arrested,
and some sentenced, for
reporting on a chemical
weapons factory.
Freedom to scrutinise
the government is fun-
damental to building a
democratic state, but in
Myanmar, those who cri-
tique the government face
detention and harsh pen-
alties, according to the
rights group.
USCB said the govern-
ment also continues to
commit human rights
abuses against vulnerable
minorities in Kachin and
northern Shan states. In
March, the UN Secretary-
General called for an in-
vestigation into these past
and ongoing violations
including crimes of sexual
violence.
“Governmentactorsalso
continue to deliberately
undermine and obstruct
the political reform pro-
cess. The government is
actively backsliding on its
by tightening restrictions
on domestic and foreign
media through law, cen-
sorship, and underhand-
ed surveillance practices,”
USCB said.
The group alleged that
the government contin-
ues to maintain good
relations with North Ko-
rean diplomats in Nay
Pyi Taw, and reportedly
works with North Korea
on military weapons pro-
grams.
“It is imperative to send
a strong message that
the persecution of ethnic
minorities, detention of
political prisoners, politi-
cal backsliding on crucial
reforms, and drafting of
new repressive laws will
not be tolerated by the
US Administration,” said
Wagley.
“We must ensure that
all people of Myanmar are
not victims of preventable
abuses.”
A spokesman for the
White House National
Security Council, Patrick
Ventrell, told Reuters that
main in Myanmar includ-
ing a dire humanitarian
situation in Rakhine state
and incidents of violence
toward Muslims and oth-
er minorities.
He said Obama ex-
tended the penalties for
another year “in order to
necessary to sanction bad
actors and prevent back-
sliding on reform even
as we broadly ease sanc-
tions.”
However, Obama said
the United States is “com-
mitted to supporting and
strengthening Burma’s
that the democratic tran-
sition is sustained and ir-
reversible.”
Aye Myat
M
yanmar is keen
to showcase its
booming tour-
ism industry and attract
investment in a bid to
prop up its economy, an
Myanmar is hoping to
attract investment to im-
prove trade relations and
encourage local compa-
nies to move to other na-
tions, said U Aung Lynn,
on the sidelines of the 24th
ASEAN Summit that was
hosted by Myanmar.
“There are resources
here that can be improved
for the production of raw
materials and the quality
of goods. Small and me-
dium enterprises (SMEs)
can play a vital role in
these areas,” he said.
Myanmar attracted more
than 2.04 million tourists
“
Despite great strides that
Burma has made in its re-
form effort, the situation
in the country continues
to pose an unusual and extraor-
dinary threat to the national se-
curity and foreign policy of the
United States.”

May 22-28, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
LOCAL BIZ 12
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
The participation of civil soci-
ety is a welcome shift in a coun-
try where perhaps the greatest
danger is that the voice of the
poor majority goes unheard by
investors. Bringing transparen-
cy, accountability, and interna-
tional human rights standards,
at least, in business deals would
represent enormous progress
for many communities like
Thilawa that fear dispossession
and eviction. These standards
should provide some guaran-
tee against the most arbitrary
abuse. In Thilawa, as in the rest
of the country, now is the cru-
cial time to do things right.
numerous others help U Mya
Hlaing and Daw Win? Is it too
late for investors to meaning-
communities of the Thilawa
project? Even though the villag-
ers have sent numerous letters
trying to engage the investors
to no avail, and the Myanmar
Government refuses to provide
replacement land or adequate
compensation, there may be
some hope. Just last week, a
member of the Japanese Parlia-
ment who chairs the committee
overseeing Japanese overseas
investment traveled to the com-
munities and promised to talk
to JICA about their claims.
Bobbie Sta Maria is regional
researcher for Southeast Asia
and Phil Bloomer is executive
director of the Business and
Human Rights Resource Cen-
tre. The Guardian
“
He explains that there has been
“no conversation, no replace-
ment land, no adequate
compensation.”
A boy rides his bicycle at the construction site of the Thilawa economic zone outside Yangon. Locals say the project, one of the
largest in Myanmar, is moving ahead while the local community is left worse off.
SoeZeyaTun/ReutersWai Linn Kyaw
Uvices group Bestinvest
will visit Yangon in a bid
to tap the ever growing expatri-
ate community in Myanmar’s
said.
The Bestinvest delegation will
be led by the company’s Chief
Investment Management, Ga-
reth Lewis.
During his stay he will meet
ures and make a presentation to
members of the expatriate com-
munity.
The presen-
tation, hosted
by the France-
Myanmar Busi-
ness Association
(AFMA), will be held at Strand
Hotel on Wednesday, May 28
from 6:30pm.
The presentation, “Discover
the secrets of award winning
investment management”, will
focus on the decision making
and research process by which
Bestinvest make investment
choices, Bestinvest said. There
will also be a question and an-
swer session as well as a chance
to meet and speak with the
The event is free but Bestin-
vest said registration via email
tysolutions.com) is compulsory.
Bestinvest, which is the cur-
rent Investors Chronicle and
Financial Times, UK Wealth
Manager of the Year, was in-
vited to Myanmar by its Asia-
Solutions.
Bestinvest, founded in 1986, is
one of the UK’s leading private
client investment advisers with
over 50,000 clients worldwide.
It service clients across Asia ex-
clusively through the services
which was founded in 2004.
Gareth has almost 30 years’
experience in investment man-
agement. A large part of his ca-
reer was spent working for UBS
where he rose to deputy head
of Investment Management for
UBS’ UK operation. He joined
Bestinvest in 2011 and now
manages over $9 billion in as-
sets.
in 2013, the state-run newspa-
per New Light of Myanmar re-
ported.
“The year 2013 was a success-
ful year for the tourism industry
in Myanmar,” Hotels and Tour-
ism Minister U Htay Aung was
quoted by local media as saying.
“We received more than 2 mil-
lion visitor arrivals from Janu-
ary to December in 2013, which
is a record-breaking (number),”
he said.
“In 2014, we will endeavor to
get 3 million visitor arrivals,”
he said, adding that Myanmar’s
chairing of ASEAN during 2014
should help boost the totals.
Last year 2.04 million foreign
visitors entered Myanmar, with
885,476 arriving by air, 6,086
by water and more than 1.15
million by land through border
checkpoints. This was almost
double the foreign visitor arriv-
als in the previous year.
The government has targeted
adding 1,255 and 2,455 rooms
in 2014 and 2015, respectively,
mates indicate that Myanmar
now has only enough rooms to
accommodate 750, 000 arrivals
a year, driving up room rates
and making the destination un-
competitive.
In addition, more than 90,000
new jobs may have been created
by new foreign direct invest-
ment (FDI) in Myanmar dur-
media reported.
A report in the New Light of
Myanmar newspaper said My-
anmar had “become the most
interesting market among the
neighbouring countries” because
it “has been on the right track to-
wards democratic transition.”
“Job opportunities could be
created for over 90,000 work-
ers in the country during the
to large foreign investment,” an
vestment directorate was quot-
ed as saying.
FDI reportedly doubled to
more than $3.6 billion in the
14 &uftwGif; z,f&Sm;&ef aMunmcH&
onf/odkYaomf &Gmom;rsm;rS rD'D,mrsm;
ESifh tjcm;jyifytultnDrsm;rSwpfqifh
EdkifiHu jrefrmtpdk;&odkY z,f&Sm;rdefYtm;
a&TUqdkif;apEdkifcJhonf/odkYaomf tqdkyg
pDrHudef;tm; qufvufvkyfudkifcJhNyD; rdom;pk
70 cefYonf wpfcef;yg tdrfi,fav;
rsm;odkY jyefvnfae&mcsxm;jcif; cHcJhMu
&onf/
tqdkygtdrfrsm;odkY oGm;a&mufvnfywf
onfhtcg a':0if;u jynfvnfae&mcs
xm;onfhae&monf uwdjyKxm;onfh
ae&mxufrsm;pGmuGma0;aMumif;? aeY
tcg t&rf;ylonfhtwGuf uav;rsm;
tm; tdrfatmufwGifxm;&aMumif;?
rdk;&moDwGifvnf; trdIuf? a&n§drsm;jzifh
a&uefo@mefjzpfaeaMumif;? ajrESifh
tvkyftudkifr&SdaMumif;?a&wGif;a&uef
rsm;rSmvnf; oefY&Sif;rIr&SdaMumif;ESifh
ausmif;rsm;rSmvnf; a0;vHaMumif; &Sif;jy
cJhonf/*syeftjcpdkuf Mekong Watch
rSvnf;tqdkygjyefvnfae&mcsxm;a&;
tajctaeESifh JICA ta&;,lrIr&Sd
jcif;rsm;twGuf rsm;pGmwkefvIyfrdaMumif;
ajymMum;cJhao;onf/
ajr{&d,m [ufwm 2400 tm;
odrf;qnf;taumiftxnfazmfxm;onfh
,ckjyóemonf jrefrmtpdk;& zGHUNzdK;
rIvkyfief;pOfESifhywfoufNyD; tcGifhxl;
aumif;wpfckjzpfonf/ tqdkyg EdkifiHjcm;
&if;ESD;jr§yfESHrIrsm;onf 2012-13 b@m
a&;ESpfwGif ,l½dk okn'or 8 bDvD,H?
2013-14 wGif ,l½dkaygif 2 'or
1 bDvD,HESifh 2014-15wGif ,l½dkaygif
2 'or 4 bDvD,H &if;ESD;jr§KyfESHoGm;&
rnfjzpfonf/tvkyfudkifESifhpGrf;tifqdkif
&mvdktyfcsufrsm;vnf;&SdaeNyD; vlOD;a&
30 &mcdkifEIef;atmufenf;vsuf&SdNyD;
2011 ckESpftwGuf wpfOD;csif;0ifaiGrSm
,l½dkaiG 59 aygifjzpfaMumif; awGU&Sd&NyD;
&if;ESD;jr§KyfESHrIonf vdktyfcsuf&Sdr&Sdtay:
ar;cGef;rsm; ar;jref;jcif; rjyKawmhacs/
NAdwdeftajcpdkufaiGaMu;0efaqmifrI
vkyfief; Bestinvest onf jrefrm
EdkifiHpD;yGm;a&;NrdKUawmfwGif rsm;jym;vm
onfhEdkifiHjcm;om;rsm;ESifh xdawGUEdkif&ef
twGuf &efukefodkY vma&mufvnfywf
rnfjzpfaMumif; od&onf/
Bestinvest udk,fpm;vS,ftzGJUtm;
ukrÜPD&if;ESD;jr§KyfESHrIt&m&SdcsKyfESifh&if;ESD;
jr§KyfESHrIpDrHcefYcGJa&;acgif;aqmif Gareth
Lewis rSOD;aqmifrnfjzpfaMumif; od&
jzifh &efukeftajcpdkuf pD;yGm;a&;vkyfief;&Sif
rsm;ESifhawGUqkHrnfjzpfNyD; EdkifiHjcm;om;
ywf0ef;usifrS toif;0ifrsm;tm;
Presentation rsm; vkyfaqmifoGm;rnf
jzpfonf/
tqdkyg Presentation tm; France-
Myanmar Business Association
(AFMA) rS BuD;rSLusif;yrnfjzpfNyD;
arv 26 &ufaeY Strand Hotel wGif
nae 6 em&DcGJ usif;yrnfjzpfonf/
onfh c&D;oGm;vkyfief;rsm;jzifh &if;ESD;jr§KyfESHrI
rsm;tm; qGJaqmifum pD;yGm;a&;zGHUNzdK;
wdk;wufatmifvkyfaqmifrnfjzpfaMumif;
wm0ef&SdolwpfOD;rSajymMum;vdkufonf/
jrefrmtaejzifh &if;ESD;jr§KyfESHrIrsm;tm;
qGJaqmifum ukefoG,frItqufoG,frsm;
tm;jr§ifhwifjcif;ESifhjynfwGif;ukrÜPDrsm;
tm; tjcm;EdkifiHrsm;wGif &if;ESD;jr§KyfESH&ef
wGef;tm;ay;oGm;rnfjzpfaMumif; EdkifiHjcm;
a&;0efBuD;XmerS tBuD;wef;t&m&Sd
OD;atmifvif;rS 24 Budrfajrmuf tmqD,H
tpnf;ta0;yGJwGif ajymMum;cJhonf/
tpkd;&tcsuftvufrsm;t& jrefrm
EdkifiHtaejzifh 2013 ckESpftwGif; c&D;
onfaygif; 2 'or 04 oef;ausmftm;
qGJaqmifEdkifcJhonf/

May 22-28, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
REGIONAL BIZ 13
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
James Topham and
Niu Shuping
A
year after spend-
ing $3.6 billion to
buy grain trader
Gavilon to expand in
China, Japan’s Marubeni
Corp has been shaken by
defaults on soybean sales
and faces an investigation
into alleged tax evasion in
the world’s top food con-
sumer.
Its aggressive expan-
contracts and a willing-
ness to deal with less-es-
tablished customers, has
been blamed for making it
more vulnerable to buyers
walking away from deals
in a shaky market.
The problems in China
come as the Japanese
trading house also faces
more competition. Chi-
nese state trader COFCO
Corp has gone on its own
spending spree and may
soon rival Marubeni,
the top grain exporter to
China, as it builds its own
trading house.
“The rapid expansion
that Marubeni is pursuing
has caused them to take
risks that other grains
companies would not in
their pursuit of business,”
said Nobuyuki Chino,
president of Tokyo-based
Continental Rice Corp,
who has spent more than
35 years trading grains,
including as a broker for
Gavilon.
Asked about its business
operations in China and
any problems it faced, a
Marubeni spokeswoman
said China was one of its
most important markets
and it would ensure stable
supply.
Chinese buyers have
recently defaulted on at
least 500,000 tonnes of
soybean shipments and
threatened to default on
more than 20 physical
soybean cargoes, which
have not yet been priced.
Marubeni President
Fumiya Kokubu said the
quarter of China’s soy-
bean imports, had suf-
fered defaults on as many
of three of its cargo ship-
ments by Chinese buyers
in late March and early
April.
Another Marubeni of-
anonymity, said all com-
panies operating in the
Chinese grain market had
faced a “perfect storm”,
with tightening credit,
sliding crushing margins
demand in recent mem-
ory.
Typically, commodities
sellers only start shipping
after buyers provide a let-
ter of credit (LC) to guar-
antee payment. However,
the requirement and are
willing to accept depos-
its, particular from estab-
lished clients.
-
ditions had forced it to
divert some ships initially
earmarked for China and
suspend loading of others
docked in Brazil because
of delays in receiving LCs,
in order to give the trad-
-
native buyers and mini-
mise losses.
Traders and industry
sources said Marubeni’s
compounded by it focus-
ing too much on small-
and medium- sized buy-
ers, which have had a
tougher time coping with
stricter lending condi-
tions introduced by Chi-
nese authorities.
“This is because they
deal with second- and
third-tier players in the
market which are more
likely to default when the
prices rise,” said a Singa-
pore-based trading man-
ager with a rival global
China.
But a source familiar
with Marubeni’s strate-
gic thinking, who did not
want to be named, said
thrust of its plans. “China
is China. There isn’t any
Aye Myat
I
ndonesian consumers were less optimistic in April
due to slowing domestic consumption in Southeast
Asia’s largest economy, a Bank Indonesia survey
showed.
previous reading of 118.2. A reading above 100 indi-
cates that consumers in general are optimistic.
The index declined due to perceptions of fewer jobs,
a slowdown in purchases of durable goods and easing
incomes.
Consumers expect price pressures to increase in the
next three months due to rising demand in the Rama-
dan fasting month.
choice but to make deals
with the Chinese.”
Reuters
ta&SUawmiftm&StBuD;qkH;aomaps;uGufjzpfonfh tif'dkeD;&Sm;
EdkifiHwGif,ckESpf{NyDvtwGif;jynfwGif;pm;okH;rIavsmhusoGm;aMumif;
Bank Indonesia
ovdkufonf/
pm;okH;ol ,kHMunfpdwfcsrIwefzdk;onf ,cif 118 'or 2 &Sdae&mrS
,cktcgwGif113'or9odkYavsmhusoGm;aMumif;tqdkygavhvmrIt&
od&onf/
Bloomberg
Lewa Pardomuan
T
he world’s biggest
rubber producing
-
cient funds to intervene in
the market to stem a price
slide that has pushed rub-
ber futures to multi-year
traders said.
Tokyo rubber futures
have plunged more than
25 percent this year, hov-
ering near their lowest
in more than four years,
while physical prices on
Singapore’s SICOM are
lows.
been dented by a weaker
economic outlook in top
market China and swell-
ing global inventories,
while top producer Thai-
land has announced plans
to sell 200,000 tonnes
from its stockpiles.
The International Rub-
ber Consortium (IRCo)
grouping Thailand, Indo-
nesia and Malaysia – who
Latex drips down a spout on a rubber tree during a rubber-tapping
demonstration at a plantation in Samnuktong, Rayong province,
Thailand.
DarioPignatelli/Bloomberg
together account for more
than 70 percent of global
natural rubber output –
appears hamstrung by a
lack of cash and political
will.
“There aren’t many op-
tions on the table. The
three countries have to
pump money into IRCo
to do the stock manage-
ment. It will run into bil-
lions, so it is not feasible
at this juncture,” said a
source at the Malaysian
government.
“Thailand’s government
is in caretaker mode,
Indonesia is in elec-
tion mode. I don’t think
anything will move now.
These are the two major
players that have to call
the shots,” said the of-
-
sitivity of the issue.
suggested that Thailand
should take the lead in
any proposal, but the
w½kwfEdkifiHodkY pD;yGm;a&;csJUxGif
&ef qefpyg;a&mif;0,fa&;ukrÜPD
Gavilon tm;tar&duefa':vm
3 'or 6 bDvD,Hjzifh 0,f,lNyD;
wpfESpftMumwGif *syefEdkifiH
Marubeni Corp taejzifhvuf&Sd
wGif yJydpyfa&mif;tm; usqif;
umaps;uGufrwnfNidrfrIESifhBuHKawGU
ae&NyD; urÇmhpm;aomufukefaps;
uGufwGif w&m;r0iftcGefa&SmifrI
twGuf pkHprf;ppfaq;cH&rIvnf;
cH,lae&aMumif; od&onf/
yJydpyf0,f,lrItm; tcsdefumv
avsmh&JpGmay;jcif;? tajcrcdkifrm
onfh 0,f,lolrsm;ESifh pD;yGm;a&;
vkyfudkifjcif;rsm;aMumifh aps;uGuf
rwnfNidrfonfhtcg0,f,lolenf;yg;
jcif;ESifh BuHKawGUae&jcif;jzpfonf/
*syefukefoG,fa&;vkyfief;tae
jzifh w½kwfEdkifiHwGif ,SOfNydKifrIrsm;
ESifh ydkrdk&ifqdkif&zG,f&Sdonf/w½kwf
EdkifiHydkif COFCO Corp tae
jzifhMarubeni ESifhenf;wlaiGaMu;
tiftm;cdkifrmap&ef vkyfaqmif
vsuf&Sdonf/Marubeni tm;
tajctaejyóemrsm;tm; ar;
jref;onfhtcg w½kwfEdkifiHonf
onfh aps;uGufjzpfonfhtwGuf
wnfNidrfatmif qufvufvkyf
aqmifoGm;rnfjzpfaMumif;tqdkyg
ukrÜPDajyma&;qdkcGifh&SdolrS ajym
Mum;cJhonf/
w½kwf0,fvufrsm;taejzifh
rMumao;rDu tenf;qkH; yJydpyf
wefig;odef;tm; oabFmwifydkYrI
zsufodrf;vdkufNyD; aps;EIef;rowf
rSwf&ao;onfh yJydpyfwifydkYrI 20
ausmftm;vnf; zsufodrf;cJhonf/

May 22-28, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
REGIONAL BIZ 14
P
hilippines-based con-
glomerate San Miguel’s
food unit, PureFoods Co
Inc, is looking to ramp up its
regional operations through a
potential acquisition in South-
east Asia’s largest economy In-
donesia.
tential expansion in Vietnam
and new markets like Myan-
mar and Cambodia, PureFoods
president Francisco Alejo III
told reporters on the sidelines
of the company’s stockholders’
meeting, Filipino media report-
ed.
“I think there’s an opportu-
nity, especially with an ASEAN
community,” Alejo was quoted
as saying.
PureFoods is particularly
keen on expanding in Indonesia
where it has existing operations
through subsidiary PT San
Miguel PureFoods Indonesia.
In Vietnam, he said the com-
pany would like to grow its ex-
isting operations but noted that
it was still “problematic.”
Wai Linn Kyaw By 2015, the 10-member As-
sociation of Southeast Asian
Nation (Asean) community has
committed to pursue a regional
economic integration through
Asean Economic Community
(AEC). The vision is to create a
single market and production
base and turn the region into
a highly competitive economic
block with equitable economic
development and is fully inte-
grated into the global economy.
Party says would cut beef exports, curb abattoirs; Wants to appeal to party’s core Hindu constituency; India is world’s No.2 beef shipper
I
ndia’s main Hindu nation-
alist party says it plans to
clamp down on beef exports
if it takes power after general
elections that ended on Monday
last week, threatening supplies
from one of the world’s biggest
shippers of the meat.
Surprisingly in a country
where so many view cows as sa-
cred, India has been poised to
become the No.1 beef exporting
nation, supplying markets such
as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam
and Egypt.
Although most of that is from
shipped by Hindus, the Bharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP) wants to
curb exports that jar with the
country’s vegetarian tradition
and to bolster the availability
of animals reared to work on
farms and for their milk.
A drop in Indian exports
could buoy global cattle prices
this year after the US herd was
pegged at its lowest in over six
decades.
“If elected, we will crack down
on beef exports and we will also
review the subsidy the govern-
meat exports,” Satpal Malik,
the BJP vice-president who
Mayank Bhardwaj and
Meenakshi Sharma
drafted the farm policy section
of its election manifesto, told
Reuters.
To help beef producers and
exporters set up abattoirs, the
federal government pays 50-75
percent of the cost of construc-
tion.
“cow and its progeny” as inte-
gral to India’s cultural heritage
– appealing to the party’s core
constituency of Hindus who ab-
hor eating beef.
The party has also said it
would outlaw cow slaughter in
the only two states where it is
currently permitted, and wants
to stamp out illegal abattoirs
where meat from cows enters
the supply chain.
The possibility of a govern-
ment drive to reduce exports
has spooked beef suppliers at
India’s largest abattoir, which
slaughters 300-500 cattle a day
in Deonar on the outskirts of
Mumbai.
“We have voted for Congress
but if the BJP comes to power,
we will have to be cautious.
They are against our trade
and they may come with strict
rules,” said supplier Moham-
mad Shareef Qureshi, sitting on
an iron cot in a Deonar tea stall.
Beef production is dominated
by Muslims, a minority in the
country, and can stir sectarian
divisions.
Clashes and altercations be-
tween some voluntary groups
ple involved in beef production
and exports are common.
“The situation would get
worse for us under a BJP gov-
ernment,” said one truck driver
who transports livestock. Giv-
he complained of harassment
by some Hindu organisations
while on the road.
India trails only Brazil in beef
exports, with a 20 percent mar-
ket share, according to US De-
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
zdvpfydkiftajcpdkuf San Miguel
pm;aomufukefqdkif&mukrÜPDcGJwpfckjzpf
onfh PureFoods Co Inc taejzifh
ta&SUawmiftm&Sa'otBuD;qkH;pD;yGm;
a&;aps;uGufjzpfonfh tif'dkeD;&Sm;wGif
&ef BudK;yrf;vsuf&SdaMumif; od&onf/
tqdkygvkyfief;taejzifhAD,uferf?
jrefrm? uarÇm'D;,m;EdkifiH rsm;udkvnf;
aps;uGufcsJUxGifEdkif&ef pDpOfaeonf/
Myanmar Summary
A Mumbai butcher at a wholesale market cuts beef for sale.
DanishSiddiqui/Reuters
RomeoRanoco/Reuters
ousting of Prime Minister Yin-
gluck Shinawatra has deepened
the country’s six-month long
political crisis.
“I am not blaming Thailand,
but it is the biggest rubber pro-
ducer. Funding has become a
problem because Thailand can’t
give its commitment when the
government is in a transition,”
said Indonesia’s trade minister
Indonesia last week suggest-
ed IRCo could be expanded to
include other rubber produc-
ing countries such as Vietnam,
Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
Tools available to the alliance
include curbing exports, reduc-
ing tapping by farmers or buy-
ing rubber for stockpiling and
sale at a later date.
Traders say the alliance has
been undermined by a lack of
trust among its members, as
well as a lack of funds, and its
most recent call to limit sales at
current prices has fallen on deaf
ears.
The three nations last acted in
2012-13 when they agreed to re-
move 300,000 tonnes, or 3 per-
cent of 2012 global output, from
the export market.
However, the intervention
and Indonesia publicly called
for the pact to be discontinued.
Dealers said the current situa-
tion was more severe.
Global natural rubber stocks
are estimated to rise about 10
percent to 3.21 million tonnes
ures from the International
Rubber Study Group, about 27
percent of global output.
Stocks in Thailand, Indone-
sia and Malaysia are estimated
by the Association of Natural
Rubber Producing Countries at
about 715,000 tonnes.
“The only thing that can stop
the slide is for world stocks to
get depleted and demand start-
ing to outstrip supply,” said a
dealer in Singapore. Reuters
yifv,fa&aMumif;jzifh trJom; t"du
wifydkYonfh urÇmhtBuD;qkH;EdkifiHwpfEdkifiH
jzpfonfh tdEd´, t"du[dE´LtrsKd;om;
trJom;wifydkYrItm; avsmhcsoGm;&ef
pDpOfvsuf&SdaMumif; xkwfazmfajymMum;
vdkufonf/
EGm;rsm;tm; txG#ftjrwftjzpf wefzdk;
xm;onfh tdEd´,EdkifiHonf rav;&Sm;?
xdkif;? AD,uferfESifh tD*spfEdkifiHrsm;odkY
wifydkYvsuf&SdNyD; eHygwf 1 trJom;wifydkY
onfhEdkifiHwpfckjzpf&ef &nfrSef;xm;aMumif;
,cifu aMunmcJhzl;onf/
trJom;rsm;tm; [dE´Lrsm; tav;
tjrwfxm;onfh EGm;rSr[kwfbJ uRJrsm;
omwifydkYjcif;jzpfaomfvnf; Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) taejzifh EdkifiH
rd½kd;zvmoufowfvGwfpm;onfh"avh
ESifh wd&dpämefrsm;tm; v,f,mESifh EdkYxGuf
ypönf;rsm; xkwfvkyf&mwGif wdk;jr§ifh&ef
twGuf jyKvkyfjcif;jzpfaMumif; od&onf/
jyKvkyfNyD;pD;cJhNyDjzpfonfh tdEd´,EdkifiH
taxGaxGa&G;aumufyGJwGif NyD;qkH;cgeD;
NyDjzpfNyD; BJP taejzifh vuf&Sd Congress
Party xuf rJtom&&Sdaejcif;jzpfonf/
&v'frsm;tm; ar 16 &ufwGif xkwfjyef
rnfjzpfonf/
urÇmha&mfbmtrsm;qHk;xkwfvkyfonfh
a'ojzpfaomtm&SwdkufwGifaps;uGuf
twGif;aps;aumif;&&Sd&eftwGuf&efykHaiG
rvkHavmufrIaMumifhtem*wfwGif&mbm
aps;uGuf2ESpfeD;yg;usqif;aeOD;rnfjzpf
aMumif;tm&Sa'o&Sd wm0ef&Sdolrsm;ESifh
vkyfief;&Sifrsm;rSajymMum;xm;onf/
*syef&mbmtaejzifhtem*wfwGif,ckESpf
xufydkNyD;25 &mcdkifEIef;cefYydkrdkckefwuf
oGm;zG,f&Sdaomfvnf;aemiftenf;qHk;
av;ESpfcefY,cktwdkif;&yfwefYaernf
jzpfaMumif;vnf;od&onf/

May 22-28, 2014
mmbiztoday.com
REGIONAL BIZ 15
Myanmar Summary
Myanmar Summary
Farah Master and
Nathan Layne
T
wo US billionaires
are betting on rival
cities, Tokyo and
Japan to open casino re-
sorts – once the govern-
ment gives the go-ahead
to legalise gambling.
Japan is one of the
world’s last untapped
gaming markets and
could become the third
largest gambling destina-
tion after Macau and the
United States, with an-
nual revenue of over $40
billion, according to bro-
ker CLSA.
Lawmakers who sup-
port legalising casino
gambling hope to see ini-
tial draft legislation this
opening by 2020, when
Tokyo hosts the Olympic
Games.
advantage, 76-year-old
Chicago real estate mo-
gul Neil Bluhm has set
his sights on the southern
commercial hub of Osaka,
while Las Vegas gaming
tycoon Sheldon Adelson,
four years his senior, is
putting his weight behind
Bluhm, who owns casi-
nos in Pennsylvania, Chi-
cago and Niagara Falls,
has a net worth of $2.6 bil-
lion, according to Forbes.
The former lawyer and
now head of Rush Gam-
ing believes Osaka, one
of Chicago’s ‘sister cities’,
-
cal government that will
help drive this project,
and, crucially, has “shovel
ready” casino sites.
He says the whole pro-
cess – from approval to
construction – in Tokyo
will be more complex,
more time-consuming,
and more expensive.
While Adelson hasn’t
ruled out pitching for
Osaka, too, he sees Tokyo
as the main prize, given
million population. The
CEO of Las Vegas Sands
Corp, who Forbes says is
worth close to $39 billion,
has pledged to spend $10
billion as Japan opens up
to legal gambling – an of-
fer he says his rivals can’t
match.
In a recent report, Mor-
gan Stanley predicted that
a Japanese casino resort
costing more than $5 bil-
on investment of below
20 percent due to rising
costs and a struggle to at-
tract enough high-rolling
Chinese VIP customers.
Sands, which has casi-
nos in Macau, Singapore
and Las Vegas, remains
bullish on its Japan
plans given the country’s
wealthy population and
proximity to China. “We
ability to generate a re-
turn that would be satis-
factory to our sharehold-
ers,” George Tanasijevich,
managing director for
global development, said
in a phone interview. He
did not elaborate.
talk of big money spend-
ing. “Sometimes people
like to throw big numbers
around in order to get
picked ... We have been
more for Osaka in the $4-
$5 billion range,” he told
Reuters.
The Kansai Keizai Doy-
ukai, a leading local busi-
ness lobby, reckons land
costs in Osaka will be a
tenth of those in the capi-
tal, some 250kms (155
miles) to the northeast.
And, it says, the city can
three times bigger than
that occupied by Singa-
pore’s two casino resorts
- Marina Bay Sands and
Resorts World Sentosa.
Fifty-six percent of
Osaka residents polled in
April said they were posi-
tive about the city of 2.8
million people having a
casino resort. The city,
located on Honshu island
at the mouth of the Yodo
River has a reputation for
being more extrovert than
Tokyo, and local authori-
ties have designated a
170-acre plot of reclaimed
land, known as Yumeshi-
ma, as the preferred re-
sort site.
in Tokyo, already setting
about preparing for the
2020 Olympics, appear
more tortoise than hare.
“We’re not like Osa-
ka and Yokohama. We
haven’t stepped on the
accelerator and said let’s
go,” Yukimasa Saito, an
A waterfront area called
Odaiba in Tokyo Bay has
been touted by executives
location for any casino re-
sort in the capital, but se-
curing enough land could
prove a challenge.
a casino would help spur
Japan’s tourism beyond
heavily populated Tokyo.
Osaka is just half an hour
from the former imperial
capital Kyoto and trade
hub Kobe.
Other regional hubs,
such as Sasebo in the
south and the ageing port
city of Otaru, have also
said they would welcome
casino plans to boost
tourism. None are as far
advanced in the process
A logo of Japan casino school is seen as a dealer puts cards on a mock black jack casino table during a
photo opportunity at an international tourism promotion symposium in Tokyo.
YuyaShino/Reuters
Factories in Anti-China Protest
Ho Binh Minh and
Manuel Mogato
T
housands of Viet-
factories and ram-
paged in industrial zones
in the south of the country
after protests against Chi-
nese oil drilling in a part
of the South China Sea
-
cials said last week.
The brunt appears to
have been borne by Tai-
wanese companies in the
zones in Binh Duong and
Dong Nai provinces as ri-
be Chinese-owned. Viet-
details, but said gates to
factories were smashed
and windows were bro-
ken. Police said they were
investigating.
A Singapore foreign min-
istry spokesman said the
premises of a number of
foreign companies were
in the Vietnam-Singapore
Industrial Parks (VSIP) I
and II in Binh Duong. The
spokesman said the Sin-
gapore government had
asked Vietnam to immedi-
ately restore law and order,
but gave no other details.
“About 19,000 work-
ers were demonstrating
against China’s violation
of Vietnam’s territorial
waters,” Tran Van Nam,
vice chairman of the Binh
Duong People’s Commit-
tee, told local reporters in
the province.
“Some workers turned
angry, destroying compa-
nies’ gates and entering
the compounds and ask-
ing other workers to join
a strike.”
China has urged Viet-
nam to “calm down” and
respect China’s sovereign-
ty, Foreign Minister Wang
Yi said in comments to
Indonesia’s Foreign Min-
ister Marty Natalegawa in
a telephone call, Beijing’s
foreign ministry reported
on its website.
Anti-China sentiment
also surged in Manila, as
the Philippine government
accused Beijing of reclaim-
ing land on a reef in dis-
puted islands in another
part of sea, apparently to
build an airstrip. The ac-
tion came only a day after
Washington described Bei-
jing’s actions in the region
as “provocative”.
“If these reports are
true, this would repre-
the Chinese, potentially
allowing them to extend
their airborne reach,” said
Ian Storey, a South China
Sea expert at Singapore’s
Institute of South East
Asian Studies.
The spike in tensions
over the oil- and gas-rich
South China Sea comes
just two weeks after US
President Barack Obama
visited the region and ex-
pressed support for long-
time allies Japan and the
Philippines, both of which
are locked in territorial
disputes with China. Vi-
etnam is also stepping
up ties with the United
States.
China claims almost the
entire South China Sea, an
area rich in energy depos-
its and an important pas-
sageway traversed each
year by $5 trillion worth
of ship-borne goods.
Brunei, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Taiwan and
Vietnam also have claims
on the area. Reuters
as Osaka - where a com-
mon local greeting is
“mokari makka?” - are
you making money?
Reuters
Protesters hold anti-China placards while marching in an anti-China
protest on a street in Hanoi.
Kham/Reuters
awmifw½kwfyifv,fjyiftwGif;
w½kwfEdkifiHESifhAD,uferfEdkifiHtMum;
ydkifeuftjiif;yGm;&mae&mwGif
w½kwfEdkifiHbufrSa&eHwl;pifcsxm;
rIudk uefYuGufjcif;tm;jzifh axmif
aygif;rsm;pGmaomAD,uferfEdkifiH
om;rsm;onf EdkifiHawmifydkif;
pufrIZkeftwGif;&Sd EdkifiHjcm;om;
ydkifpuf½kHrsm;tm; rD;½IdUcJhaMumif;
wm0ef&Sdolrsm;rS xkwfazmfajym
Mum;cJhonf/
Binh Duong ESifh Dong Nai
a'orsm;&Sd ypfrSwfxm;wdkufcdkuf
cHcJh&onfh puf½kHtcsKdUrSm xdkif0rf
ydkifpuf½kHrsm;jzpfNyD; w½kwfydkiftjzpf
rSm;,Gif;wdkufcdkufcHcJhMu&jcif;jzpf
onf/AD,uferftpdk;&rSpuf½Hk*dwf0
rsm;ESifhwHcg;rsm;zsufqD;cH&aMumif;
udkom ajymMum;cJhonf/
tar&duefoef;<u,folaX;
ESpfOD;taejzifh *syefEdkifiH&Sd wdkusKd
ESifhtdkqmumwdkYwGiftpdk;&rScGifhjyK
onfESifh avmif;upm;tyef;ajz
vkyfief;rsm;vkyfudkif&ef NydKifqdkif
vsuf&SdaMumif; od&onf/
*syefEdkifiHonf urÇmay:wGif
aemufqkH; rnfolrSrxd&ao;
onfhavmif;upm;aps;uGufwpfck
jzpfNyD; ESpfpOf tar&duefa':vm
40 bDvD,Hausmf0ifaiG&&SdEdkif
onfh rumtkdESifh tar&duefNyD;
vQif wwd,tBuD;qkH; avmif;
upm;&yf0ef;wpfckjzpfvmEdkif
aMumif; broker CLSA rS
cefYrSef;xm;onf/
umqDEdkavmif;upm;0dkif;rsm;
tm;axmufcHonfhOya'jyKolrsm;
taejzifh ueOD;Oya'Murf;tm;
,ckESpftwGif;jrifawGUEdkif&ef
cefYrSef;xm;NyD; tdkvHypfjydKifyGJtm;
wdkusKdwGifvufcHusif;yrnfh
2020 wGif pwifzGifhvSpfEdkif&ef
arQmfrSef;xm;Muonf/
tqdkyg,SOfjydKifrIwGif csDum*dk
tdrfNcHajrvkyfief;&Sif 76 ESpft&G,f
Neil Bluhm rS tdkqmum
awmifbufpD;yGm;a&;NrdKUtm;
pdwf0ifpm;vsuf&SdNyD; Las Vegas
rS avmif;upm;olaX; Sheldon
Adelson rSvnf; wdkusdKtm;
pdwf0ifpm;vsuf&Sdonf/

Myanmar Business Today - Vol 2, Issue 20

Myanmar Business Today - Vol 2, Issue 20

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Myanmar Business Today - Vol 2, Issue 20

Similar to Myanmar Business Today - Vol 2, Issue 20 (20)

More from Myanmar Business Today

More from Myanmar Business Today (14)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (19)

Myanmar Business Today - Vol 2, Issue 20